The Role of the Carbides of Iron in the Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis

Products of Hydrogenation of Carbon Monoxide - Relation of Product Composition to Reaction Mechanism

“…Indeed, the intermediacy of bulk Hágg iron carbide was shown to be thermodynamically unfavorable (13) on the basis of experimental free energy data. However, a mechanism in which one carbon atom in each molecule was derived from a Hágg iron carbide intermediate was considered (20) to be thermodynamically possible and in accord with the results of the experiments with radioactive iron carbide.…”

“…In the experiments with tagged ethanol (15), the nearly even distribution of radioactivity on a molal basis showed that ethanol was not involved randomly in extension of the chain. Similarly, it has been argued that iron carbide may participate but once in the synthesis of a product molecule (20). Experimental investigation of the role of radioactive iron carbide showed that surface carbide, while participating to some extent, was not serving as an intermediate (14).…”