Preparation of bimetal Cu–Co nanoparticles supported on meso–macroporous SiO2 and their application to higher alcohols synthesis from syngas

•Structures of Cu@Co and Co@Cu can be developed and controlled.•Cu–Co/La2O3–SiO2 catalysts show good activity for higher alcohols synthesis.•Different performance can be found with different structures of Cu and Co.

Meso–macroporous SiO2 supported LaCo0.7Cu0.3O3 were prepared by impregnation method and used as catalysts for higher alcohols synthesis (HAS) from syngas. These catalysts were characterized by using BET, H2-TPR, XRD, SEM, TEM and XPS techniques. By reducing the catalysts, bimetallic nanoparticles with core–shell structure supported on SiO2–La2O3 were made, and the structure of the nano bimetal could be adjusted via controlling the reduction conditions. The supported bimetal with cobalt as the core and copper as the shell favored the alcohols synthesis, while the bimetal with copper as the core and cobalt as the shell generated more hydrocarbons. The thus prepared bimetal catalysts exhibited very good catalytic performance for HAS from syngas.

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