Perovskite-type oxides in methane dry reforming: Effect of their incorporation into a mesoporous SBA-15 silica-host

A series of Ni-based perovskite-type oxides LaNiO3, La0.8Ca0.2NiO3 and La0.8Ca0.2Ni0.6Co0.4O3, were synthesized as catalyst precursors both bulk and built-in a highly ordered mesoporous SBA-15 silica-host with the aim of using them as heterogeneous catalysts in syngas production by the methane dry reforming with CO2. The solids were characterized by means of FT-IR, XRD, BET surface area and TPR techniques. All synthesized oxides showed a perovskite-type structure. Incorporation of the oxides into the mesoporous silica-host generates a higher metal-support interaction increasing the Ni reduction temperature. A decrease in CH4 and CO2 conversion was observed when a second cation in A- and/or B-site was added to the bulk perovskite. The built-in of these solids in the SBA-15 mesoporous silica-host allows working at lower temperature with an increase in conversions and selectivity towards syngas which represent an attractive perspective for industrial application. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.