Preparation of mesoporous silica supported cobalt catalysts using supercritical fluids for Fischer–Tropsch synthesis

Abstract Cobalt catalysts supported on mesoporous silica for Fischer–Tropsch synthesis were prepared by supercritical CO 2 at 333 K, 20 MPa with an addition of 10 mol% methanol. Highly dispersed Co particles in mesopores could be observed by TEM for the sample by supercritical CO 2 method, while the aggregates of Co particles on external surface of silica were found for the conventional liquid phase impregnation method. Fischer–Tropsch synthesis examined at 503 K, 1.1 MPa revealed CO conversion to be 46.7% using the catalyst prepared by supercritical CO 2 method, which was about 1.5 times higher than the catalyst prepared by the conventional method.