Dry reforming of methane has drawn much attention as it converts two greenhouse gases (CH4 and CO2) to syngas with a H2/CO ratio close to 1. Ni-based catalysts have shown great activity for dry reforming of methane. Unfortunately, such catalysts often suffer from severe coking and sintering during the reaction, which lead to fast deactivation of the catalysts and prevent the industrial application of the process. To develop a more robust nickel-based dry reforming catalyst, we synthesized a series of Ni/Ce0.82Zr0.18O2 (Ni/CZ) samples using different methods, including dry impregnation (DI), strong electrostatic adsorption (SEA), co-precipitation (CP) and combustion synthesis (CS). Each of these synthesis techniques will lead to a catalyst with different metal-support interactions. Catalysts with different nickel loadings were synthesized to vary the fraction of accessible Ni species in samples made by the bulk synthesis techniques CP and CS. XRD analysis showed that only the CP catalysts with 6 and 10 wt% contained detectable crystalline nickel particles. EXAFS analysis of unreduced samples confirmed the presence of well-dispersed nickel particles on all catalysts. For samples made by CS and CP with 2 wt% Ni, almost atomic dispersion of nickel was achieved. Reactivity tests showed that all catalysts were active for dry reforming of methane at 700 °C for at least 12 hours on stream. The methane conversion, the H2:CO ratio and the amount of carbon deposits formed were highly dependent on the Ni particle size as well as the metal-support interaction. Carbon deposits were primarily formed within the first hour of the reaction. XAS spectra of the spent catalysts showed that except for the DI catalyst, all nickel stayed reduced after the reaction and subsequent handling in air, indicating carbonaceous deposits or encapsulation of the support prevented re-oxidation. All catalysts lost a significant fraction of their activity during the first hours on streams, but their performance stabilized as the reaction continued. The results showed that catalysts with smaller and better dispersed nickel clusters have better activity and are more resistant to deactivation.

Impact of synthesis methods on the formation of Ni species in Ni/CexZr1-xO2 catalysts and their performance for methane dry reforming

Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century

[Author Benefits](https://scimeetings.acs.org/?utm_source=pubs_content_marketing&utm_medium=website&utm_campaign=0320_MCF_NPI_Launch_Spring_Homepage&ref=pubs_content_marketing)

[How to use SciMeetings](https://storage.googleapis.com/dl.morressier.com/acs/SciMeetings-ACSSpring2020-HowToGuide_M3020-Final.pdf)

[Frequently Asked Questions](https://storage.googleapis.com/dl.morressier.com/acs/SciMtng_ACSNMSp2020_FAQ_M3120_Final.pdf)

ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.