Synergistic effect of macroporosity and crystallinity on catalyst deactivation behavior over macroporous Ni/CexZr1-xO2–Al2O3 for dry reforming of methane

Abstract

Dry reforming of methane (DRM) is an outstanding process for transforming methane and carbon dioxide into synthesis gases (H2 and CO). In this study, a special geometrical modification on Ni/CexZr1-xO2–Al2O3 catalyst was applied by introducing a macroporous structure into the support to accelerate the metal support interaction that optimized the distribution of the active sites over the catalyst. Furthermore, we investigated a synergistic effect of the macroporosity and CexZr1-xO2 (CZ) crystallinity over the Ni/CexZr1-xO2–Al2O3 catalyst on its catalytic performance in DRM. Macroporous Ni/CexZr1-xO2–Al2O3 catalysts were prepared via washing (Ni-MaCZA-W) and hydrothermal (Ni-MaCZA-H) methods. Non-macroporous Ni-CZA-H with crystalline CZ was prepared for comparison. The crystalline CZ over macroporous Ni-MaCZA-H had a strong interaction with Ni due to easy accessibility of Ni species to CZ in the macroporous support, resulting in highly dispersed Ni nanoparticles and abundant oxygen vacancies. The unique properties of Ni-MaCZA-H increased catalytic activity and stability in DRM, suppressing coke formation via efficient coke gasification. The Ni species and amorphous CZ over Ni-MaCZA-W resulted in a bimodal Ni size distribution and fast catalyst deactivation. However, even though the crystalline CZ over Ni-CZA-H generated a unimodal distribution of Ni nanoparticles, the non-macroporous Ni-CZA-H resulted in gradual deactivation in the catalytic activity and the production of a different type of coke.