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 (H2-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.