Role of the nanoparticles of Cu-Co alloy derived from perovskite in dry reforming of methane

Abstract

Enhanced the carbon resistance and sintering of the metal-active site of catalysts for the dry reforming of methane (DRM) can be achieved by the metal-perovskite interaction. Perovskite-based catalysts LaCoO3 and LaCu0.55Co0.45O3 were prepared using the sol-gel citrate method. The products obtained, after heat treatment under air at 800 °C, were characterized by several techniques such as: inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Brunauere Emmette Teller method (BET), scanning electron microscopy (SEM-EDX), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and temperature-programmed reduction (TPR). After reduction, the catalysts were evaluated in the reforming of methane reaction under continuous flow with CH4/CO2 ratio equal to 1, at atmospheric pressure and temperature ranging from 400 to 700 °C. LaCu0.55Co0.45O3 catalyst exhibit higher activity compared to LaCoO3. According to the catalytic and characterization results before and after reaction, the higher activity obtained in the case of LaCu0.55Co0.45O3 can be explained by the lower Co particle size and formation of Cu-Co alloy during the reduction which prevents the CoO formation.