An effective Co/MnOx catalyst for forming light olefins via Fischer–Tropsch synthesis

•1,4-Butanediol was an efficient solvent for the co-precipitated Co/MnOx catalyst.•The selectivity of C2=–C4= was significantly increased to 42.2%.•Olefin/paraffin ratio was up to 2.38.•Effects of solvent on catalyst performance were well investigated.

The 1,4-Butanediol (BDO) was applied as a solvent of cobalt and manganese precursors, in order to adjust the structure and chemical properties of the Co/MnOx catalyst. The light olefin selectivity of the catalyst prepared by BDO is 42.2% in all hydrocarbon products, which is much higher than 26.5% of conventional Co/MnOx catalyst. It was found that the presence of BDO markedly adjusted the pore structure of obtained catalyst, reducibility and electronic states of supported cobalt, leading to higher light olefins selectivity in FTS reaction.