La synthèse Fischer-Tropsch permet de produire des carburants propres à partir du gaz naturel, de la biomasse ou du charbon. Les carburants issus d'une synthèse Fischer-Tropsch sont totalement exempts de soufre et de composés aromatiques. Cette thèse présente de nouvelles approches de conception des catalyseurs Fischer-Tropsch à base de cobalt supportés par des silices mésoporeuses. Ces approches sont fondées sur la promotion de catalyseurs par le ruthénium et la zircone, sur l'utilisation de la technique plasma pour la décomposition du précurseur de cobalt, ainsi que sur l'étude cinétique des étapes élémentaires de la réaction Fischer-Tropsch dans des conditions transitoires dont la méthode TAP. La structure des catalyseurs a été caractérisée à chaque étape de leur synthèse et de leur activation par des techniques physico-chimiques dont certaines techniques in-situ. Il a été démontré que la promotion des catalyseurs avec le ruthénium et l'oxyde de zirconium dépendait fortement de la texture du support. La promotion améliore la performance catalytique de façon plus importante pour les catalyseurs supportés par les silices qui possèdent des pores plus étroits. L'utilisation de la technique plasma pour la décomposition du cobalt permet de contrôler efficacement la taille des nanoparticules de cobalt et donc d'améliorer de façon significative les performances catalytiques. Les études transitoires et la modélisation des étapes élémentaires ont fourni des informations fondamentales sur la nature des sites actifs des catalyseurs à base de cobalt pour la réaction Fischer-Tropsch.

Since the turn of the last century when the field of catalysis was born, iron and cobalt have been key players in numerous catalysis processes. These metals, due to their ability to activate CO and CH, haev a major economic impact worldwide. Several industrial processes and synthetic routes use these metals: biomass-to-liquids (BTL), coal-to-liquids (CTL), natural gas-to-liquids (GTL), water-gas-shift, alcohol synthesis, alcohol steam reforming, polymerization processes, cross-coupling reactions, and photocatalyst activated reactions. A vast number of materials are produced from these processes, including oil, lubricants, waxes, diesel and jet fuels, hydrogen (e.g., fuel cell applications), gasoline, rubbers, plastics, alcohols, pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, feed-stock chemicals, and other alternative materials. However, given the true complexities of the variables involved in these processes, many key mechanistic issues are still not fully defined or understood. This Special Issue of Catalysis will be a collaborative effort to combine current catalysis research on these metals from experimental and theoretical perspectives on both heterogeneous and homogeneous catalysts. We welcome contributions from the catalysis community on catalyst characterization, kinetics, reaction mechanism, reactor development, theoretical modeling, and surface science.

ABSTRACT: The Fischer-Trospch (F-T) synthesis of liquid hydrocarbon fuels from biomass-derived synthesis gas (CO + H2) is a promising way of producing renewable ultra-clean diesel fuel. The Fischer Tropsch process has been used commercially for many decades using coal or natural gas as a feedstock. Recently the focus has switched to renewable resources, such as biomass. Significant effort has been spent developing efficient Fischer-Tropsch catalysts, but very little is known about the effects of nanoparticle oxide supports for Fischer-Tropsch catalysts. In this research project the objectives were to 1) design and build a F-T reactor and 2) use the system to develop new efficient F-T catalysts. A number of different catalysts were prepared, carefully characterized and tested for F-T activity. The initial study involved the effects of support pretreatment and catalyst precursor quality. In addition, ZrO2-promotion was investigated in detail for Co catalysts supported on nanoparticle (n-SiO2) and porous (p-SiO2) silica supports. The results show that the support pretreatment and catalyst precursor have limited effects on the catalytic activities and selectivities. It was also found that ZrO2 addition increases activity and in some cases selectivity with minimal difference between Co/n-SiO2 and Co/p-SiO2.

Provides a much-needed account of the formidable "cobalt rush" in organic synthesis and catalysis Over the past few decades, cobalt has turned into one of the most promising metals for use in catalytic reactions, with important applications in the efficient and selective synthesis of natural products, pharmaceuticals, and new materials. Cobalt Catalysis in Organic Synthesis: Methods and Reactions provides a unique overview of cobalt-catalysed and -mediated reactions applied in modern organic synthesis. It covers a broad range of homogeneous reactions, like cobalt-catalysed hydrogenation, hydrofunctionalization, cycloaddition reactions, C-H functionalization, as well as radical and biomimetic reactions. First comprehensive book on this rapidly evolving research area Covers a broad range of homogeneous reactions, such as C-H activation, cross-coupling, synthesis of heterocyclic compounds (Pauson-Khand), and more Chapters on low-valent cobalt complexes as catalysts in coupling reactions, and enantioselective cobalt-catalyzed transformations are also included Can be used as a supplementary reader in courses of advanced organic synthesis and organometallic chemistry Cobalt Catalysis in Organic Synthesis is an ideal book for graduates and researchers in academia and industry working in the field of synthetic organic chemistry, catalysis, organometallic chemistry, and natural product synthesis.