IR spectral study of the effect of the reaction medium on the state of cobalt in a 10% Co/Al2O3 catalyst for aliphatic hydrocarbons from CO and H2

Diffuse scattering IR spectroscopy was used to study the 10% Co/Al₂O₃ catalyst for the synthesis of aliphatic hydrocarbons from CO and H₂. Ionic and metallic cobalt forms were identified in the IR spectroscopy. The adsorption of CO on these forms is accompanied by the appearance of linear and bridged complexes. After prolonged treatment of the catalyst by a CO + 2H₂ mixture, the ions and surface of metallic cobalt remain available for the adsorption of CO. Modification of the surface of metallic cobalt occurs upon the action of the reaction medium. This modification is seen in a bathochromic displacement of the IR bands for the adsorbed and linear CO forms. This displacement is accompanied by a reduction in the strength of the metal-carbon bond in the Co^o-CO complex.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 11, pp. 2640–2643, November, 1990.