Dry Reforming of Ethane over FeNi/Al–Ce–O Catalysts: Composition-Induced Strong Metal–Support Interactions

Dry reforming of ethane (DRE) has received significant attention because of its potential to produce chemical raw materials and reduce carbon emissions. Herein, a composition-induced strong metal–support interaction (SMSI) effect over FeNi/Al–Ce–O catalysts is revealed via X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), H2-temperature programmed reduction (TPR), and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) elemental mapping. The introduction of Al into Al–Ce–O supports significantly influences the dispersion of surface active components and improves the catalytic performance for DRE over supported FeNi catalysts due to enhancement of the SMSI effect. The catalytic properties, for example, C2H6 and CO2 conversion, CO selectivity and yield, and turnover frequencies (TOFs), of supported FeNi catalysts first increase and then decrease with increasing Al content, following the same trend as the theoretical effective surface area (TESA) of the corresponding catalysts. The FeNi/Ce–Al0.5 catalyst, with 50% Al content, exhibits the best DRE performance under steady-state conditions at 873 K. As observed by with in situ Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis, the introduction of Al not only increases the content of surface Ce3+ and oxygen vacancies but also promotes the dispersion of surface active components, which further alters the catalytic properties for DRE over supported FeNi catalysts.