New breakthroughs in a century -old classic reaction, Zhejiang University catalytic research ascension "Science"

Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis, also known as F-T synthesis, is a mixed gas of synthetic gas (carbon monoxide and hydrogen, mainly derived from coal, vaporization of biomass). The process of synthesizing the hydrocarbons under appropriate conditions.

This technology was developed by German chemist Franz Fischer and Hans Tropsch in the 1920s. Once-tropsch synthesis to olefins (FTO) is also an important means of coal-to-olefin, but the current reaction process still has problems such as high reaction temperature and insufficient efficiency. The development of low -temperature and efficient catalysts is of great significance for the cleaning of coal to obtain large chemicals.

Professor Xiao Feng harvest of the School of Chemistry Engineering and Biological Engineering of Zhejiang University, and the team of Researcher Wang Liang and the Researcher Team of Zheng Anmin, the Institute of Precision Surveying Science and Technology Innovation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences to study the important impact of the diffusion of key reaction species in the FTO process. A small amount of water generated during the hydrogenation process will adsorb to the catalyst surface to inhibit the adsorption and conversion of CO and hydrogen molecules, which is more obvious during the low temperature reaction process. How to further improve the low -temperature response activity of a catalyst while maintaining excellent olefin selectivity has become an urgent need to solve.

Recently, the team reported a strategy to control the water species in the micro-environment of catalyst surface micro-environment. By physical mixing a hydrophobic aid polyvinyl benzene benzene benzene benzene benzene benzeneropenezen Significantly improved. At 250 ° C, the one-way conversion rate of CO reached 63.5%, while maintaining 71.4%of the hydrocarbons to be low-carbon olefin products (C2-C4 =). The study was published on July 22 in the top international journal "Science". The first author of the paper was Dr. Fang Wei, Dr. Wang Chengtao and Dr. Liu Zhiqiang. The author of the paper was Professor Xiao Feng harvest, researcher Wang Liang, and researcher Zheng Anmin.

Different from the research of the traditional Feito catalyst, the Zhejiang University team has a unique approach to focus on the reaction product on the surface of the catalyst surface. Xiao Fengyu said: "This idea is also very simple. Through the method of catalyst and auxiliary physical mixing, we build a specific micro -environment on the surface of the catalyst, while promoting the decision and re -adsorption of the product, and promote the reaction." The method of physical mixture can regulate the reaction performance of the existing catalyst, which is better than the generally used chemical modification method.

This polyethylene benzene has an ultra -hydrophobic surface. When this material is mixed in the catalyst, the reaction product water will quickly be undertaken and spread. Although the atmosphere composition in the entire reaction system has not changed, the micro environment in the active site will become relatively "dry", which provides favorable conditions for the continuous efficiency of catalysts. "We clean up the active sites blocked by water, and the catalytic reaction can continue to advance." Wang Liang said.

Avenue to Jane, this small change has doubled the transformation efficiency, and at the same time optimized the selectivity of the product to achieve high efficiency under low temperature conditions.

For future applications, Xiao Fengyu said that this new type of physical mixed catalytic system does not need to transform the existing industrial response route, which can be applied to production practice highly efficiently and allows coal to play a greater role.

Source: public account of Zhejiang University. Text: Ke Yoneng; Photography: Lu Shaoqing, scientific research pictures are provided by the interviewed team.

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