Glucose-Induced Monodisperse Iron Oxide/Graphene Oxide Catalysts for Efficient Fischer–Tropsch Synthesis

A facile green approach to efficiently tune the particle size and dispersion of graphene oxide-supported iron oxide catalysts (Fe/G) through the controlled hydrothermal treatment with the addition of glucose was presented. Various characterization techniques were employed to study the effect of glucose content on the structure and property of Fe/G catalysts. It is found that the addition of glucose can generate spatial confinement between graphene oxide sheets, which can restrain the growth of iron oxide nanoparticles and finally tune the particle size and dispersion, as confirmed by the experimental and theoretical calculation results. The glucose-induced carbon-rich atmosphere also benefits the reduction and carburization behaviors of Fe/G catalysts. The optimized Fe/G-2g of ∼3.4 nm exhibits excellent Fischer–Tropsch reaction activity (92%) and heavier hydrocarbon selectivity (50%).