Assembly and activation of supported cobalt nanocrystal catalysts for the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis.

The effect of oxidative treatments on the depostion of cobalt nanocrystals (Co-NC) onto a support and subsequent ligand removal was investigated. Deposition of ε-cobalt NC led to extensive clustering of NC and low Fischer-Tropsch synthesis activity. Low-temperature oxidation of ε-cobalt NC resulted in a very uniform CoO-NC distribution and high activity whereas high-temperature oxidation to Co3O4 led to less uniform NC distributions and lower activity.