Ni/SiO2 Catalyst Prepared by Strong Electrostatic Adsorption for a Low-Temperature Methane Dry Reforming Reaction

Low-temperature methane dry reforming (MDR) over supported Ni catalysts is a more economical way to convert greenhouse gases than high-temperature MDR. However, sintering from Ni aggregation and carbon deposition from deep cracking of CH4 caused catalyst deactivation. In this study, we synthesized a supported Ni/SiO2-E catalyst by strong electrostatic adsorption for low-temperature MDR (673-773 K). Experimental results showed that the Ni/SiO2-E catalyst exhibited higher performance on using low-temperature MDR than the Ni/SiO2-I catalyst prepared by the conventional impregnation method. From characterizations of X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), hydrogen temperature-programmed reduction (H-2-TPR), etc. in fresh catalysts and used catalysts, the excellent stable performance of MDR over the Ni/SiO2-E catalyst was associated with the smaller Ni size and the stronger Ni-SiO2 interaction. The former contributed to less formation of carbon deposits and the latter resulted in hardly any sintering of Ni nanoparticles.