Ordered mesoporous Ni-Mg-Al2O3 as an effective catalyst for CO2 reforming of CH4

The Ni based catalysts have been considered as promising candidates for the CO2 reforming of CH4 (CRM). However, they have suffered from two challenging issues of sin-tering and carbon accumulation. In order to overcome these drawbacks, a series of ordered mesoporous Ni-xMg-Al2O3 catalysts (x was the mole ratio of Mg/(Mg + Al)) with different Mg contents were synthesized by an improved one-pot evaporation-induced self-assembly method. The effect of Mg on the physicochemical property and catalytic performance of Ni-xMg-Al2O3 catalysts for CRM was investigated. The catalysts were characterized by XRD, H2-TPR, XPS, TEM, NH3-TPD, and N2 adsorption-desorption at low temperature. The results showed that the introduction of Mg into the Ni-Al2O3 maintained well the ordered mes-oporous structure and enhanced the interaction between Ni and Al2O3, which could effectively restrict the thermal agglomeration of Ni nanoparticles. In addition, the acid sites were decreased with the introduction of Mg, which was beneficial for resistance to carbon accumulation, and then improving the CRM performance. Among Ni-xMg-Al2O3 catalysts, Ni-3Mg-Al2O3 presented the highest catalytic activity and stability. Under the conditions of 750 degrees C and GHSV = 32000 mL g-1 h-1, the conversion of CH4 and CO2 could reach 81.97% and 89.11% without deactivation for 20 h.(c) 2022 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

Ordered mesoporous Ni-xMg-Al2O3 catalysts were synthesized by an improved one-pot evaporation-induced self-assembly method to overcome the issues of sintering and carbon accumulation in the CO2 reforming of CH4. The introduction of Mg maintained the ordered mesoporous structure, enhanced the interaction between Ni and Al2O3, and reduced the number of acid sites. The Ni-3Mg-Al2O3 catalyst exhibited the highest catalytic activity and stability, achieving CH4 and CO2 conversions of 81.97% and 89.11%, respectively, without deactivation for 20 hours. (c) 2022 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.