Abstract The coordination environment and orbital state of the active sites determine the catalytic performance, and the realization of their rational design is one of the ultimate goals in the research field of catalysis. Here we report an active Fe‐based Fischer‐Tropsch synthesis catalyst with shorter Fe‐C bond tuned by decorating carbon quantum dots (CQDs) for production of value‐added C 2+ products from CO 2 hydrogenation. Different from traditional in‐situ formed iron carbide active sites, the shorter Fe‐C bond endowed by strengthened electron transfer between Fe species and CQDs boosts CO* protonation and CC bond coupling. This novel active site delivers ultra‐high C 2+ products selectivity (81.3%) and extremely low CO selectivity (8.8%) at a CO 2 conversion of 38.5%, achieving a record‐breaking C 2+ products yield (28.6%) among the reported results. This work may shed a light on the rational design and optimization of metal carbide‐based catalysts for Fischer‐Tropsch synthesis of value‐added C 2+ products and beyond.
Bi et al. (2026) studied this question.