Promoted Photothermal Catalytic CO Hydrogenation by Using TiC-Supported Co-Fe₅ C₂ Catalysts

Photothermal catalytic CO hydrogenation offers the potential to synthesize light hydrocarbons by using solar energy. However, the selectivity and activity of the reaction are still far below those achieved in conventional thermal catalytic processes. Herein, we report that the Co-modified Fe₅ C₂ on TiC catalyst promotes photothermal catalytic CO hydrogenation with a 59 % C₂₊ selectivity in the produced hydrocarbons and a 30 % single-pass CO conversion at a high gas hourly space-time velocity of 12 000 mL g^-1  h^-1 . Using in-situ-irradiated XPS, we show that light-induced hot electron injection from TiC to Fe₅ C₂ modulates the chemical state of Fe, thereby increasing the CO-to-C₂₊ conversion. This work suggests that it is possible for plasmon-mediated surface chemistry to enhance the activity and selectivity of photothermal catalytic reactions.