Effect of proximity and support material on deactivation of bifunctional catalysts for the conversion of synthesis gas to olefins and aromatics

[Display omitted] •Loss of promotion on iron catalyst when mixed with zeolite in close proximity.•Migration of sodium ions from iron to zeolite was inferred.•Spatial separation of iron catalyst and zeolite prevents migration of sodium ions.•Sodium ion migration seemed hindered for iron supported on carbon. Synthesis gas conversion to short olefins and aromatics using bifunctional catalysts has gained much attention in recent years. Here, we study the interaction between the components of bifunctional catalysts to design a more stable catalyst system. Mixing α-alumina supported iron (-carbide) promoted with sodium and sulfur with an H-ZSM-5 zeolite to convert synthesis gas to aromatics and short olefins we observed selectivity loss of the iron (-carbide) catalyst as well as the acid function. This was displayed by increasing methane and decreasing aromatics selectivity when the two individual catalysts were mixed in close proximity. We introduced different approaches to understand this selectivity related deactivation. Larger spatial separation of the iron and zeolite allowed a more stable system with constant methane and aromatics selectivity. Alternatively, iron supported on carbon nano tubes mixed with the zeolite in close proximity did not display selectivity related deactivation. We conclude that the selectivity loss was caused by migration of sodium ions that were used next to sulfur as promoters on the iron catalyst over the α-alumina support to the zeolite, which was supported by XPS model experiments. This migration seems hindered on carbon supported iron catalysts.