In situ observation of self-assembled hydrocarbon Fischer-Tropsch products on a cobalt catalyst

Fischer-Tropsch synthesis is a heterogeneous catalytic reaction that creates approximately 2% of the world's fuel. It involves the synthesis of linear hydrocarbon molecules from a gaseous mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen at high pressures (from a few to tens of bars) and high temperatures (200-350 €...°C). To gain further insight into the fundamental mechanisms of this industrial process, we have used a purpose-built scanning tunnelling microscope to monitor a cobalt model catalyst under reaction conditions. We show that, after 30 €...minutes of reaction, the terraces of the cobalt catalyst are covered by parallel arrays of stripes. We propose that the stripes are formed by the self-assembly of linear hydrocarbon product molecules. Surprisingly, the width of the stripes corresponds to molecules that are 14 or 15 carbon atoms long. We introduce a simple model that explains the accumulation of such long molecules by describing their monomer-by-monomer synthesis and explicitly accounting for their thermal desorption.