CO chemisorption and dissociation at high coverages during CO hydrogenation on Ru catalysts.

Density functional theory (DFT) and infrared spectroscopy results are combined with mechanism-based rate equations to assess the structure and thermodynamics of chemisorbed CO (CO*) and its activation during Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (FTS). CO* binding becomes weaker with increasing coverage on Ru(0001) and Ru201 clusters, but such decreases in binding energy occur at higher coverages on Ru201 clusters than on Ru(0001) surfaces (CO*/Ru = 1.55 to 0.75); such differences appear to reflect weaker repulsive interactions on the curved surfaces prevalent on small Ru201 clusters. Ru201 clusters achieve stable supramonolayer coverages (CO*/Ru > 1) by forming geminal dicarbonyls at low-coordination corner/edge atoms. CO* infrared spectra on Ru/SiO2 (~7 nm diameter) detect mobile adlayers that anneal into denser structures at saturation. Mechanism-based FTS rate equations give activation energies that reflect the CO*-saturated surfaces prevalent during catalysis. DFT-derived barriers show that CO* predominantly reacts at (111) terraces via H-assisted reactions, consistent with measured effects of H2 and CO pressures and cluster size effects on rates and O-rejection selectivities. Barriers are much higher for unassisted CO* dissociation on (111) terraces and low-coordination atoms, including step-edge sites previously proposed as active sites for CO* dissociation during FTS. DFT-derived barriers indicate that unassisted CO* dissociation is irreversible, making such steps inconsistent with measured rates. The modest activation barriers of H-assisted CO* dissociation paths remove a requirement for special low-coordination sites for unassisted CO* activation, which is inconsistent with higher rates on larger clusters. These conclusions seem generally applicable to Co, Fe, and Ru catalysts, which show similar FTS rate equations and cluster size effects. This study also demonstrates the feasibility and relevance of DFT treatments on the curved and crowded cluster surfaces where catalysis occurs.

Mechanistic role of water on the rate and selectivity of Fischer-Tropsch synthesis on ruthenium catalysts.

Water increases Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (FTS) rates on Ru through H-shuttling processes. Chemisorbed hydrogen (H*) transfers its electron to the metal and protonates the O-atom of CO* to form COH*, which subsequently hydrogenates to *HCOH* in the kinetically relevant step. H2 O also increases the chain length of FTS products by mediating the H-transfer steps during reactions of alkyl groups with CO* to form longer-chain alkylidynes and OH*.