Advances in the development of novel cobalt Fischer-Tropsch catalysts for synthesis of long-chain hydrocarbons and clean fuels.

Hydrogen is a promising energy carrier in future energy systems. However, storage of hydrogen is a substantial challenge, especially for applications in vehicles with fuel cells that use proton-exchange membranes (PEMs). Different methods for hydrogen storage are discussed, including high-pressure and cryogenic-liquid storage, adsorptive storage on high-surface-area adsorbents, chemical storage in metal hydrides and complex hydrides, and storage in boranes. For the latter chemical solutions, reversible options and hydrolytic release of hydrogen with off-board regeneration are both possible. Reforming of liquid hydrogen-containing compounds is also a possible means of hydrogen generation. The advantages and disadvantages of the different systems are compared.

Chemical and Physical Solutions for Hydrogen Storage

Hydrogen storage in Mg: A most promising material

http://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdfplus/10.1021/cr500486u

Recent Developments in the Synthesis of Supported Catalysts

National Natural Science Foundation of China [20625310, 20923004]; National Basic Research Program of China [2005CB221408, 2010CB732303]; Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education [20090121110007]; Key Scientific Project of Fujian Province [2009HZ0002-1]

Development of Novel Catalysts for Fischer–Tropsch Synthesis: Tuning the Product Selectivity

Preparation of Fischer–Tropsch cobalt catalysts supported on carbon nanofibers and silica using homogeneous deposition-precipitation

Magnesium dihydride contains 7.7 wt % hydrogen. However, its application for hydrogen storage is impeded by its high stability and slow kinetics. Bringing the size of Mg(H2) into the nanometer range will not only enhance the reaction rates but has also been theoretically predicted to change the thermodynamic stability and destabilize the MgH2 with respect to Mg. However, the preparation of such small particles is a major challenge. We identified a method to prepare large amounts of nanometer-sized nonoxidized magnesium crystallites. The method is based on infiltration of nanoporous carbon with molten magnesium. The size of the Mg crystallites is directly influenced by the pore size of the carbon and can be varied from 2–5 to less than 2 nm. The majority of the nanocrystallites is not oxidized after preparation. No bulk magnesium was detected in the samples with nanoparticle loadings up to 15 wt % on carbon. These 3D supported nanomaterials present interesting systems to study how nanosizing and support in...

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The Preparation of Carbon-Supported Magnesium Nanoparticles using Melt Infiltration

Investigation of promoter effects of manganese oxide on carbon nanofiber-supported cobalt catalysts for Fischer–Tropsch synthesis

Carbon nanofiber supported Fischer-Tropsch catalysts with different cobalt particle sizes (2.6-16 nm) have been studied with steady-state isotopic transient kinetic analysis (SSITKA) at 210 °C, H 2 /CO = 10. Previous studies with these catalysts for the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis had shown a strong size dependency of the surface-specific activity. From the SSITKA study it appeared that with decreasing particle size, the CH x surface residence time increased from 10 (>6 nm) to 22 seconds (2.6 nm). For the CO residence time, an opposite trend was found. Moreover, both the CH x and CO surface coverage decreased as function of particle size. These findings lead us a step closer to the origin of the cobalt particle size effect.

P.B. Radstake

Papers

Preparation of Fischer–Tropsch cobalt catalysts supported on carbon nanofibers and silica using homogeneous deposition-precipitation

The Preparation of Carbon-Supported Magnesium Nanoparticles using Melt Infiltration

Investigation of promoter effects of manganese oxide on carbon nanofiber-supported cobalt catalysts for Fischer–Tropsch synthesis

On the origin of the cobalt particle size effect in the fischer-tropsch synthesis