Iron carbide promoted K/β-Mo2C for higher alcohols synthesis

Iron carbide promoted K/β-Mo2C catalysts were prepared and tested for higher alcohols synthesis. The results revealed that β-Mo2C produced mainly hydrocarbons, but the addition of potassium resulted in a remarkable selectivity shift from hydrocarbons to alcohols and then a higher selectivity to C2+OH over β-Mo2C. Moreover, it was found that iron carbide further enhanced the selectivity of higher alcohols, showing the optimum at 1/6 of Fe/Mo molar ratio. The corresponding characterization suggested that there might be a synergistic effect of iron carbide and K/β-Mo2C, i.e. the formation of “K-Fe-Mo-C” species which favored the alcohols synthesis.