A new synthesis of carbon encapsulated Fe5C2 nanoparticles for high-temperature Fischer–Tropsch synthesis

Abstract

Using a simple thermal treatment under a CO flow, uniform micrometer-sized iron oxalate dihydrate cubes prepared by hydrothermal reaction were transformed into Fe₅C₂@C nanoparticles to form a mesoporous framework; the final structure was successfully applied to the high-temperature Fischer–Tropsch reaction and it showed high activity (CO conversion = 96%, FTY = 1.5 × 10⁻⁴ mol_CO g_Fe⁻¹ s⁻¹) and stability.