Publication date: 22nd July 2026
Catalysis plays a crucial role in modern chemical industries, making up approximately 85% of all chemical manufacturing. However, conventional thermal catalysis operates under steady-state kinetics, limiting improvement in rates, stability, selectivity and energy efficiency. As an alternative, utilizing pulsed optical excitation of a light absorbing catalyst to generate short, intense heat bursts opens new pathways to dynamically control heterogeneous catalysis. [1,2] Here, we explore this approach on photothermally driven Fischer Tropsch Synthesis over Co/TiO2, a complex chain growth reaction limited in efficiency by its low product selectivity. At the same average irradiation intensity with 1064nm laser sources and without external heating, nanosecond pulsed illumination outperforms continuous wave (CW) illumination by an order of magnitude in overall CO conversion. Additionally, pulsed illumination conditions favour shorter chain hydrocarbon products when compared to CW. These findings demonstrate that pulsed irradiation enables a fundamentally different operational mode for chemical synthesis which provides new opportunities for catalyst control and optimization.
