Photocarrier-assisted photothermocatalysis of Fischer–Tropsch synthesis for the enhanced yield of C2–C4 hydrocarbons over a Co/SrTiO3 catalyst

Abstract

Photocarrier-assisted photothermocatalysis of Fischer–Tropsch synthesis was attained over a Co/SrTiO₃ catalyst. The selectivity to C2–C4 hydrocarbons over the optimized Co/SrTiO₃ catalyst was 37.2%, showing nearly 5-fold enhancement in comparison with that of Co/SiO₂. The photocarrier-assisted photothermocatalysis delivered high catalytic efficiency, which can be ascribed to the combined effect of photocatalysis and photothermocatalysis. The high energy photogenerated holes can enhance the CO hydrogenation capacity, and photogenerated electrons can assist in C–C coupling on the Co active sites, which is beneficial to produce high value-added hydrocarbons in photothermocatalysis. This work may pave the way for the development of an approach for fabricating photocarrier-assisted photothermocatalysis systems for potential applications in solar-to-chemical energy conversion.