Nickel silicate beta zeolite prepared by interzeolite transformation: A highly active and stable catalyst for dry reforming of methane

Abstract

• Hydrothermal interzeolite transformation of nickel silicate MWW to *BEA zeolite. • Novel synthesis of nickel silicate beta zeolite using bottom-up method. • In-situ formation of highly dispersed metallic nickel clusters in Ni-BEA. • Highly active and stable Ni catalyst for dry reforming of methane. • Platform technique for the preparation of zeolite-metal composite. The preparation of porous nickel silicates has received considerable attention because of its potential as a catalyst for various applications, such as dry reforming of methane (DRM), CO 2 hydrogenation, and water–gas shift. In this study, we first synthesize the nickel silicate *BEA-type zeolite (Ni-BEA) via the interzeolite transformation of nickel silicate MWW within 12 h. The presence of Ni in the tetrahedral framework of the *BEA structure is experimentally demonstrated using diverse analytical methods. The extraction of framework Ni at high temperatures generates uniform metallic Ni clusters within the pores of the *BEA structure. Ni-BEA exhibits the highest conversions of CH 4 and CO 2 and stability for DRM among the employed catalysts owing to the significant quantity of highly dispersed Ni clusters in the three-dimensional large-pore system. The synthesis of metallosilicate *BEA by interzeolite transformation and in-situ generation of uniform metal clusters can be expanded to the other metal-zeolite catalysts.