Catalytic performance of CuCoCe supported on nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes for the synthesis of higher alcohols from syngas

A series of nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes (xN-CNTs) were obtained by treating the mixture of melamine and carbon nanotubes at high temperature; the CuCoCe catalysts supported on xN-CNTs were then prepared by impregnation method and used in the synthesis of higher alcohols from syngas. The CuCoCe/xN-CNTs catalysts were characterized by XRD, N₂ sorption, H₂-TPR, NH₃-TPD and XPS and the effect of nitrogen content in xN-CNTs on the catalytic performance of CuCoCe/xN-CNTs in the higher alcohols synthesis was investigated. The results show that the content of nitrogen in xN-CNTs has a significant influence on the existence and dispersion of Cu on the CuCoCe/xN-CNTs catalysts; the presence of nitrogen can reduce the number of reducible Co species and lower the acid strength and amount on the catalyst surface, which helps to suppress the long-chain hydrocarbons formation and improve total alcohol selectivity. It is proposed that the morphological distribution and doping amount of nitrogen on the carbon tubes may play a crucial role in enhancing the catalytic performance of CuCoCe/xN-CNTs in the higher alcohols synthesis.