Effect of Partial Substitution of Ni by Cu in LaNiO3 Perovskite Catalyst for Dry Methane Reforming

A series of ternary perovskite type oxides LaNi1-xCuxO3 (x = 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, and 1.0) were synthesized via the sol-gel method in propionic acid. Partial substitution of Ni by Cu showed higher activities and selectivities towards syngas products. LaNi0.8Cu0.2O3 was the most active toward the CH4 and CO2 conversions, and was selective for syngas products. Temperature-programmed reduction results showed that the addition of Cu facilitates the reduction of Ni3+ to Ni-0, which is the main reason for the higher performance of this catalyst.