Dry reforming of methane over supported Rh and Ru catalysts: Effect of the support (Al2O3, TiO2, ZrO2, YSZ) on the activity and reaction pathway

The effect of Al2O3, TiO2, ZrO2 and Yttria-Stabilized Zirconia (YSZ) supports on the activity of the dry reforming of CH4 towards syngas production was investigated for Rh and Ru catalysts. Ruthenium-based catalysts were found to generally be more active than Rh leading H2/CO ratios close to unity above 700 °C. Methane conversion turnover frequency (TOF) over Rh catalysts becomes optimum for Rh/YSZ followed by Rh/TiO2 and Rh/ZrO2, and finally Rh/Al2O3, which exhibited the lowest activity. The performance order is different for Ru catalysts, with TOF being increased in the order Ru/Al2O3