Study of Ni Catalysts with Different Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> Supports in the Partial Oxidation of Methane Reaction
Hua Yang, Zhang Zhang, Yongsheng He, Peng Wang, Zhuangzhuang Ren, Lizhi Wu, Yu Tang, Li Tan
Abstract
Ni-based catalysts have been widely investigated in the partial oxidation of methane (POM). However, sintering and carbon deposition are severe problems for Ni-based catalysts in the POM reaction. Here, Ni/Al 2 O 3 catalysts with Al 2 O 3 supports prepared by different synthesis methods are used to investigate the effect of strong metal–support interaction (SMSI) and their relationships to the catalytic performance. As a result, the different strengths of SMSI between Ni species and various Al 2 O 3 supports contribute to generating different contents of the reduced metallic Ni 0 sites in the catalysts, which affects the catalytic activity in the POM reaction obviously. The surface unsaturated pentahedral coordination Al 3+ centers supply SMSI in the Ni/Al 2 O 3 -H catalyst to prevent the catalyst from sintering and coking in the POM reaction, which results in better catalytic activity and catalyst stability. A new view is provided to solve the design of stable metal oxide catalysts by utilizing their SMSI effect.