As a result of rapid growth in the production of oxygenates from biomass, the generation of hydrogen from the steam reforming of alcohols, especially ethanol, is getting increasing attention and opens new opportunities for the utilization of renewable resources. Bulk nickel is a poor catalyst for the reforming of ethanol, being typically deactivated by the deposition of coke. In contrast, due to its high chemical activity in the cleavage of O-H and C-C bonds, ceria supported small Ni nanoparticles is an active/stable system for catalytic reforming reactions. In this work, a combination of the model (well-defined film/single crystal surface) and technical (high surface area powders) catalysts, have been employed to understand the fundamental role of each catalyst component, the performance of adjacent sites in the metal-oxide interface, and the critical mechanistic steps that sustain the active chemistry. With this fundamental knowledge, we rationally designed catalysts that could protect the Ni-Ce interaction through the use of W-doped solid solution (NixWyCezO2). In-situ XRD, XAS, and XPS characterizations revealed that the doping of W significantly enhanced the metal-oxide support interactions, which play an important role in enhancing the activity/stability of the catalysts by modifying the redox properties of ceria, stabilizing the supported metal particles, and facilitating the oxygen transfer between metal and oxide surface.

Ni-based catalysts for steam reforming of ethanol: In situ investigation of C-C and O-H bond scission

2019 Fall National Meeting

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