Active, selective and stable NiO-CeO2 nanoparticles for CO2 methanation

CO2 hydrogenation to CH4 (or methanation) has been proposed to diminish CO2 emissions producing a valuable fuel. A catalyst consisting of NiO-CeO2 mixed oxide 6-7 nm nanoparticles with enhanced properties has been prepared, and compared with other NiO-CeO2 reference catalysts including a mixed oxide with the same composition but without control of the size, a counterpart NiO-CeO2 mixed oxide with three dimensionally ordered macroporous (3DOM) structure and an inverse catalyst consisting of bulk NiO-supported CeO2 nano particles among others. At 275 degrees C the CO2 methanation rate is near 3 times higher to that achieved with the counterpart reference catalyst prepared without control of the size, being more active than all reference catalysts. The selectivity towards CH4 formation is similar to 100% in the whole range of temperature studied (until 500 degrees C), and kept the same activity and selectivity during a 25 h long-term test. The high activity of this catalyst is related with its high specific surface area (122 m(2)/g) and with the presence of highly-reducible Ni-O-Ce species on the nanoparticles surface

Automated summary

The study of CO2 hydrogenation to CH4 revealed that the catalyst consisting of size-controlled NiO-CeO2 mixed oxide nanoparticles exhibits higher activity and selectivity, attributed to its high specific surface area and the presence of highly-reducible Ni-O-Ce species on the nanoparticle surface.