The active pairs of Co-Co2C adjusted by La-doped CaTiO3 with perovskite phase for higher alcohol synthesis from syngas.

[Display omitted] • Co-Co 2 C active sites can be adjusted by changing the ratio of Co/Ti. • Oxygen vacancy could eliminate carbon deposition and promote higher alcohols synthesis. • Co0, Co 2 C and oxygen vacancies synergistically boost the formation of higher alcohols. • The complete perovskite structure is beneficial to the excellent stability of catalyst. Catalytic conversion of syngas (CO + H 2) to higher alcohols is desirable, but a high C 2+ OH selectivity is challenging to achieve due to the difficult equilibrium between dissociatively adsorbed CO and non-dissociatively adsorbed CO. In this work, Ca 1-x La x Ti 1-x Co x O 3 catalysts are facilely prepared by using citrate complexing method, and a part of metal Co is transformed to Co 2 C during reaction. In the process of reaction, the synergistic effects among metal Co, Co 2 C and oxygen vacancies boost the conversion of syngas to higher alcohols. Metal Co nanoparticles are used to promote the dissociative adsorption CO and C–C coupling, subsequently combine with *CO adsorbed on Co 2 C to produce alcohols. Besides, oxygen vacancy can be used to activate oxygen-containing compounds and enhance higher alcohols synthesis. The surface Co 2 C/Co ratio has significant influences on catalytic activity and stability of catalysts, which can be adjusted by the Co/Ti ratio. The C 0.7 L 0.3 T 0.7 C 0.3 O 3 catalyst exhibits the highest selectivity of higher alcohols due to the moderate surface Co 2 C/Co ratio, which has an appropriate balance between *C, *CO and C–C coupling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]