Sintering resistant cubic ceria yolk Ni phyllosilicate shell catalyst for methane dry reforming

Abstract

Methane dry reforming (DRM) reaction is an efficient strategy to achieve carbon neutralization. Whereas, nano-catalysts, which are highly active due to size effect, are prone to sinter under the relatively high reaction temperature conditions, leading to the degradation of catalytic performance and accumulation of carbon. Therefore, preventing sintering is highly desired. In this manuscript, we synthesize cubic CeO2 yolk Ni phyllosilicate shell (CeO2 @Ni-Ps YS) catalyst which exhibits superb catalytic performance for DRM reaction. This is because the Ni bearing Ps structure mitigates the agglomeration of Ni nanoparticles due to strong metal support interaction (MSI); whilst CeO2 still preserves cubic morphology due to the protection by yolk shell structure, isolating CeO2 from each other. In addition, the yolk shell structure also provides intimate interaction between reactant gases and catalyst, which is known as confinement effect and further contributes to its better catalytic performance than the CeO2 @Ni-Ps CS catalyst. By comparison, serious sintering of both Ni and CeO2 occurs for DP Ni-Ps/CeO2 catalyst, leading to its continuous degradation of DRM performance. This method is promising to synthesize other efficient yolk shell catalysts for use in sustainable reaction processes.