Kinetically Relevant Steps and H2/D2 Isotope Effects in Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis on Fe and Co Catalysts

H-2/D-2 isotope effects on Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (FTS) rate and selectivity are examined here by combining measured values on Fe and Co at conditions leading to high C5+ yields with theoretical estimates on model Fe(110) and Co(0001) surfaces with high coverages of chemisorbed CO (CO*). Inverse isotope effects (r(H)/r(D) < 1) are observed on Co and Fe catalysts as a result of compensating thermodynamic (H-2 dissociation to H*; H* addition to CO* species to form HCO*) and kinetic (H* reaction with HCO*) isotope effects. These isotopic effects and their rigorous mechanistic interpretation confirm the prevalence of H-assisted CO dissociation routes on both Fe and Co catalysts, instead of unassisted pathways that would lead to similar rates with H-2 and D-2 reactants. The small contributions from unassisted pathways to CO conversion rates on Fe are indeed independent of the dihydrogen isotope, as is also the case for the rates of primary reactions that form CO2 as the sole oxygen rejection route in unassisted CO dissociation paths. Isotopic effects on the selectivity to C5+ and CH4 products are small, and D-2 leads to a more paraffinic product than does H-2, apparently because it leads to preference for chain termination via hydrogen addition over abstraction. These results are consistent with FTS pathways limited by H-assisted CO dissociation on both Fe and Co and illustrate the importance of thermodynamic contributions to inverse isotope effects for reactions involving quasi-equilibrated H-2 dissociation and the subsequent addition of H* in hydrogenation catalysis, as illustrated here by theory and experiment for the specific case of CO hydrogenation.