Carbothermic reduction of carbon aerogel-supported Fe during the catalytic decomposition of toluene

Abstract Iron-catalyzed tar decomposition is studied by inspecting changes in catalytic activity and its correlation to the metal oxidation numbers. A carbon-aerogel-supported iron (Fe/CAG) catalyst was used herein to decompose toluene (model tar) at between 500 °C and 700 °C. The catalytic decomposition was studied in a conventional reaction system, and the catalyst was characterized prior to and after the reaction to understand the effect of the structural changes in the catalytic activity. The results demonstrated that the iron oxidation state and coke deposition strongly depend on the reaction temperature. The X-ray diffraction patterns confirmed that at T