KOSK-II-Katalyse og org.synt.kjemi II

Co-Re is often the main active constituents in natural gas based Fischer-Tropsch synthesis. In order to reduce the amount of non-reduced cobalt, a small amount of Re can be introduced into the catalyst system. It is generally accepted that rhenium mainly catalyses the reduction of cobalt species interacting with the support. The nature and location of the promoter is also unclear, especially at reaction conditions. Re supported on alumina can be present in a large variety of oxidation states. A large numb er of studies have used XAS, Raman and IR spectroscopies to study the nature of Re species in such catalysts. However, all studies are based on Re LIII edge XAS and reduced samples at ambient pressures. Raman studies employ lasers in the visible region an d most frequently ex situ. Some studies are performed ex situ on used catalysts, but mostly only in the reduced state. That is, relatively far away from industrial Fischer-Tropsch conditions. We therefore propose a project where the experimental condition s are more realistic and where we use recent advances in instrumentation to extend the range of information about this very important industrial catalyst system. e have recently invested in a combined Raman-IR instrument equipped with both a near-IR and a UV laser. Furthermore, the instrument is equipped with fibre optics and a dedicated in situ catalyst cell. Hence, we want to take advantage of the capabilities of this instrument to study the Re species on Co-Re FT catalysts. There is an urgent need for scientific personnel that can dedicate time to explore the full capabilities of the instrument. This proposal will make it possible to fully utilize the potential of these instruments on catalyst systems. This proposal is also aiming at exploiting the cur rent upgrade of the Swiss-Norwegian Beamline B-station from a standard powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) and absorption spectroscopy (XAS) beamline to a versatile state-of-the-art beamline for in situ studies