Fe(3)O(4) Nanoparticles Supported on Modified Coal toward Catalytic Hydrogenation of Coal to Oil

[Image: see text] Iron-supported catalysts exhibit good catalytic performance in direct coal liquefaction (DCL), but the effect of the carrier on the performance of the composite catalyst is unclear. In this paper, a simple solid-state synthesis strategy for the preparation of coal-loaded Fe(3)O(4) nanoparticles (Fe(3)O(4)/Coal) and the hydrochloric acid treatment of coal-loaded Fe(3)O(4) nanoparticles (Fe(3)O(4)/Coal-HCl) is presented. The resulting composite was used as a catalyst for DCL. The effects of supports on the structure and performance of iron-supported catalysts have been illustrated. After the acid pretreatment of the catalyst carrier coal, the surface structure and functional groups changed, which affected the aggregation morphology of the Fe(3)O(4) active component. The Fe(3)O(4)/Coal-HCl catalyst improved the catalytic performance of DCL with conversion and oil yield of 98.02 and 49.96 wt %, respectively. The result shows that pretreatment can be an effective way to modify the surface of the catalyst carrier coals, thereby further improving the catalytic performance of composites. The iron-based composites prepared by the solid-state route show great potential as supported catalysts in DCL.