Ni-Co/Mg-Al catalyst derived from hydrotalcite-like compound prepared by plasma for dry reforming of methane

Ni-Co bimetallic catalysts with different Ni/Co content were derived from cold plasma jet decomposition and reduction of hydrotalcite-like compounds containing Ni, Co, Mg and Al, and their catalytic performance was investigated with dry reforming of methane. Experimental results showed that the hydrotalcite-like precursors could be completely decomposed and partly reduced by cold plasma jet, and the Ni-contained catalysts exhibited much higher activity than the catalyst without Ni. Especially, the catalyst with Ni/Co ratio of 8/2 achieved not only the highest conversions of 80.3% and 69.3% for CH4 and CO2, respectively, but also the best stability in 100 h testing. The catalysts were characterized by XRD, XPS, TEM and N2 adsorption techniques, and the results showed that the better performance of the 8Ni2Co bimetallic catalyst was attributed to its higher metal dispersion, smaller metal particle size, as well as the interaction effect between Ni and Co, which were brought by the special catalyst preparation method.