Study of nanostructured Ni/CeO2 catalysts prepared by combustion synthesis in dry reforming of methane

This work reports the study of several catalysts of Ni-CeO2 active for dry methane reforming process (CH4 + CO2 -> 2CO + 2H(2)). The use of Ni as active phase is highly preferred, due to its availability, high activity and low cost, although its main lack is the coke formation on the surface of Ni metal particles, resulting in a severe deactivation. Here we report a new synthesis method that allows a simple, effective and fast way to prepare Ni-CeO2 catalysts, in a wide range of metallic loadings, resulting in all the cases in well-formed NiO crystallites with sizes in the range of 12-18 nm. The use of CeO2 as a support has been based on its massive use in TWC catalysts formulations, where it is recognized to activate CH4 and lower hydrocarbon dissociation. Moreover, CeO2 has been reported to have an intrinsic activity in the CH4 reforming reaction. Besides the metallic loading, several factors that control the preparation method of the catalyst have been varied, in order to optimize their performance. Most of the catalysts prepared show activity and selectivity values close to thermodynamic ones, maintaining a good stability on long periods of time and severe conditions. Nevertheless, formation of some carbon nano-fibers has been observed, which could result in a drawback for their application at large scale. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.