Gonzalez-Jimenez, Ines D.; Cats, Korneel; Davidian, Thomas; Ruitenbeek, Matthijs; Meirer, Florian; Liu, Yijin; Nelson, Johanna; Andrews, Joy C.; Pianetta, Piero; de Groot, Frank M. F.; Weckhuysen, Bert M.

Angewandte Chemie, International Edition (2012), 51(48), 11986-11990 CODEN: ACIEF5; ISSN: 1433-7851. English.

The possibility of using hard x-ray nanotomog. (at 5-14 keV) for ex$ the composition and changes of catalytic solids under working conditions, using the Fischer-Tropsch reaction to olefins (FTO) reaction using a 70:20:6:4 Fe2O3-TiO2-ZnO-K2O catalyst. Full-field hard X-ray transmission microscopy provides unprecedented possibilities for in-situ, three-dimensional characterization of an individual catalyst particle with nanometer spatial resolution and elemental sensitivity under realistic reaction conditions (i.e., high temps. and pressures). This innovative approach allows unravelling of the complex interplay of different chem. components and their related spatial distribution, as shown here for a Ruhrchemie Fe-based catalyst to manufacture C2-4-olefins and alkanes from synthesis gas.