Appl. Catal. B-Environ.

2021, 285, 119840

Higher alcohols synthesis (HAS) from syngas with high selectivity attracts great attention but remains challenging. Herein, we reported an effective strategy by tuning chemical environment and synergistic relay reaction to promote the production of higher alcohols. CO insertion rate was greatly enhanced by introducing Rh or Ru component to CoMn oxides. The catalytic activity and oxygenates selectivity increased dramatically over the asobtained Rh-CoMn or Ru-CoMn catalyst, while the fraction of C-2+OH in oxygenates maintained >92 %. Multiple studies demonstrated the highly dispersed Rh delta+ or Ru delta+ species not only effectively tuned the chemical environment and facilitated the stable existence of Co2C, but also catalyzed the coupling of syngas and in-situ generated olefins to produce extra oxygenates via hydroformylation route. The synergistic effect of Co-0, Co2C and Rh delta+ (or Ru delta+) species, as well as the promotional effect of olefins relay reaction contributed to the enhancement in both higher alcohols selectivity and CO conversion.