Abstract: Highly loaded Co/SiO₂ catalysts were prepared by the co-precipitation method with resorcinol formaldehyde resin gel (RFG). Most RFG was decomposed during the drying process at 393 K, and little carbon was remained in the catalysts. However, the presence of RFG during the precipitation played the important roles in increasing the pore sizes of catalysts and the reducibility and dispersion of supported cobalt, leading to the more surface active cobalt sites and large pores of the catalysts and therefore the higher activity for the Fischer-Tropsch reactions to produce heavy hydrocarbons. The catalyst 80%Co/SiO₂-C thus prepared was as active and selective as the 80%Co-8%ZrO₂/SiO₂ (an excellent catalyst reported previously) for the synthesis of heavy hydrocarbons from syngas.

Key words: highly loaded cobalt, silica, resorcinol-formaldehyde resin gel, Fischer-Tropsch synthesis, microcalorimetric adsorption, number of active sites