Engineering Cobalt‐Based Thin Films for Fischer–Tropsch Synthesis
8 affiliations
- 1PVcomB Helmholtz‐Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie GmbH (HZB) Berlin Germany
- 2Department of Interface Design HZB Berlin Germany
- 3Energy Materials In‐situ Laboratory Berlin (EMIL) HZB Berlin Germany
- 4Department Active Materials and Interfaces for Stable Perovskite Solar Cells Helmholtz‐Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie (HZB) Berlin Germany
- 5Department Structure and Dynamics of Energy Materials Helmholtz‐Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie (HZB) Berlin Germany
- 6Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems IKTS Dresden Germany
- 7Helmholtz‐Institute Erlangen‐Nürnberg for Renewable Energy (HI ERN) Department of X‐ray Spectroscopy at Interfaces of Thin Films Berlin Germany
- 8Friedrich‐Alexander‐Universität Erlangen‐Nürnberg (FAU) Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy Erlangen Germany
Abstract
We report on the synthesis of cobalt‐based thin films via magnetron sputtering at varying conditions, including sputtering pressure, reactive gas composition, substrate temperature, and post‐deposition annealing. The produced thin films exhibit diverse morphologies, crystalline phases, and oxidation states, such as metallic cobalt (Co0) and cobalt oxides (CoO and spinel‐Co3O4). Two thin‐film catalyst architectures, based on Co0 (TFCat1) and CoxOy (TFCat2), on Si/Al2O3/SiO2 support stacks are further developed as analogues of commercial powder‐based Fischer–Tropsch synthesis (FTS) catalysts. The phase evolution in both of these model catalyst systems is investigated in situ under FTS‐relevant reduction conditions using synchrotron‐based grazing‐incidence x‐ray diffraction. Both catalysts (TFCat1 and TFCat2) were tested for their FTS catalytic performance at comparable operating conditions. A lined‐out CO conversion level of ca. 4.6% and 4.9% was obtained for TFCat1 and TFCat2, respectively. These catalysts exhibited distinct steady‐state product distributions: TFCat1 showed enhanced selectivity toward kerosene‐range hydrocarbons, while TFCat2 produced a wider hydrocarbon distribution extending to C27. Moreover, Cobalt thin‐film model catalyst (TFCat1) shows significantly reduced dewetting compared to its oxide counterpart (TFCat2) under FTS operating conditions. The well‐defined and easy to tune cobalt‐based thin films provide a robust foundation for the rational scale‐up of next‐generation catalysts.
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BibTeX
@article{raza2026engineering,
title = {{Engineering Cobalt‐Based Thin Films for Fischer–Tropsch Synthesis}},
author = {Muhammad Hamid Raza and Avela Kunene and Alexander Steigert and Athanasios Skaltsogiannis and Catalina E. Jiménez and Florian Ruske and Ali Shan Malik and René Schwiddessen and Judith Helena Mettke and Johannes Frisch and Regan G. Wilks and Erik Reichelt and Marcus Bär and Rutger Schlatmann and Daniel Amkreutz},
journal = {Small (Weinheim an Der Bergstrasse, Germany)},
year = {2026},
month = aug,
doi = {10.1002/smll.75333},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.75333},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Engineering Cobalt‐Based Thin Films for Fischer–Tropsch Synthesis
AU - Muhammad Hamid Raza
AU - Avela Kunene
AU - Alexander Steigert
AU - Athanasios Skaltsogiannis
AU - Catalina E. Jiménez
AU - Florian Ruske
AU - Ali Shan Malik
AU - René Schwiddessen
AU - Judith Helena Mettke
AU - Johannes Frisch
AU - Regan G. Wilks
AU - Erik Reichelt
AU - Marcus Bär
AU - Rutger Schlatmann
AU - Daniel Amkreutz
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/08/24
JO - Small (Weinheim an Der Bergstrasse, Germany)
DO - 10.1002/smll.75333
UR - https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.75333
AB - We report on the synthesis of cobalt‐based thin films via magnetron sputtering at varying conditions, including sputtering pressure, reactive gas composition, substrate temperature, and post‐deposition annealing. The produced thin films exhibit diverse morphologies, crystalline phases, and oxidation states, such as metallic cobalt (Co0) and cobalt oxides (CoO and spinel‐Co3O4). Two thin‐film catalyst architectures, based on Co0 (TFCat1) and CoxOy (TFCat2), on Si/Al2O3/SiO2 support stacks are further developed as analogues of commercial powder‐based Fischer–Tropsch synthesis (FTS) catalysts. The phase evolution in both of these model catalyst systems is investigated in situ under FTS‐relevant reduction conditions using synchrotron‐based grazing‐incidence x‐ray diffraction. Both catalysts (TFCat1 and TFCat2) were tested for their FTS catalytic performance at comparable operating conditions. A lined‐out CO conversion level of ca. 4.6% and 4.9% was obtained for TFCat1 and TFCat2, respectively. These catalysts exhibited distinct steady‐state product distributions: TFCat1 showed enhanced selectivity toward kerosene‐range hydrocarbons, while TFCat2 produced a wider hydrocarbon distribution extending to C27. Moreover, Cobalt thin‐film model catalyst (TFCat1) shows significantly reduced dewetting compared to its oxide counterpart (TFCat2) under FTS operating conditions. The well‐defined and easy to tune cobalt‐based thin films provide a robust foundation for the rational scale‐up of next‐generation catalysts.
SN - 1613-6810
SN - 1613-6829
ER -