Foregoing calcination and utilizing direct reduction of cobalt nitrate led to the formation of smaller cobalt oxide nanoclusters in stronger interaction with silica support as intermediates of the activation process to Co degrees nanoparticles; this was demonstrated by TPR, TPR-MS, TPR-XANES, and TPR-EXAFS experiments using hydrogen. These intermediate cobalt oxides included a spinel (e.g., Co3O4) formed from oxidation of Co2+ species by NO2, which in turn converted to CoO prior to formation of the metal. To improve the reducibility, metal promoters such as Pt, Re, Ru, and Ag were added. Hydrogen chemisorption and EXAFS experiments revealed smaller nanoparticles; Co-Co metal coordination numbers were significantly lower for the H-2-activated Co metal nanoparticles when direct reduction of the nitrate was used relative to H-2-activated air calcined catalysts. Comparing at the same space velocity, the best catalysts were Re and Pt promoted 12%Co/SiO2 catalysts utilizing direct reduction of the nitrate, where initial conversions in a CSTR were up to 3.8 times higher and 71% higher than unpromoted and Pt promoted air calcined catalysts, respectively. At these conditions, methane production was lower (6.8 and 8.0% for Re and Pt promoted catalysts, respectively, by direct reduction versus 12.5 and 10.1% for unpromoted and Pt promoted air calcined catalysts) and C5+ selectivity was higher (81.2% and 81.5% for Re and Pt promoted catalysts, respectively, by direct reduction versus 73.4 and 78.8% for unpromoted and Pt promoted air calcined catalysts). The uncalcined catalysts were slightly less stable than the calcined samples, with the only exception being the rhenium promoted sample, where no visible deactivation was observed; this catalyst also had the highest catalytic activity on a per gram catalyst basis.