Iron-oxide aerogel and xerogel catalyst formulations: Characterization by 57Fe Mössbauer and XAFS spectroscopies

Iron in various iron-oxide aerogel and xerogel catalyst formulations (≥85% Fe2O3; ≤10% K, Co, Cu, or Pd) developed for possible use in Fischer–Tropsch synthesis (FTS) or the water-gas-shift (WGS) reaction has been examined by 57Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy. The seventeen samples consisted of both as-prepared and calcined aerogels and xerogels and their products after use as catalysts for FTS or the WGS reaction. Complementary XAFS spectra were obtained on the occurrence of the secondary elements in some of the same materials. A broad, slightly asymmetric, two-peak Mössbauer spectrum was obtained from the different as-prepared and calcined catalyst formulations in the majority of cases. Such spectra could only be satisfactorily fit with three quadrupole doublet components, but no systematic trends in the isomer shift and quadrupole splitting parameters and area ratios of the individual components could be discerned that reflected variations in the composition or preparation of the aerogel or xerogel materials. However, significant reductions were noted in the Mössbauer effective thickness (recoilless absorption effect per unit mass of iron) parameter, χeff/g, determined at room temperature, for aerogels and xerogels compared to bulk iron oxides, reflecting the openness and lack of rigidity of the aerogel and xerogel structures. Mössbauer measurements for two aerogels over the range from 15 to 292 K confirmed the greatly diminished nature of this parameter at room temperature. Major increases in the effective thickness parameter were observed when the open structure of the aerogel or xerogel collapsed during calcination resulting in the formation of iron oxides (hematite, spinel ferrite). Similar structural changes were indicated by increases in this parameter after use of iron-oxide aerogels as catalysts for FTS or the WGS reaction, during which the iron-oxide aerogel was converted to a mixture of nonstoichiometric magnetite and the Hägg carbide, χ-Fe5C2, or nonstoichiometric magnetite, respectively.