Y2O3-promoted NiO/SBA-15 catalysts highly active for CO2/CH4 reforming

•The addition of Y2O3 improved significantly the dispersion of Ni0 particles.•The synergistic mechanism of Y2O3 for carbon formation and removal was proposed.•9%Y–NiO/SBA-15 catalyst exhibited superior stability during CO2/CH4 reforming.

A series of Y2O3-promoted NiO/SBA-15 (9 wt% Ni) catalysts (Ni:Y weight ratio = 9:0, 3:1, 3:2, 1:1) were prepared using a sol–gel method. The fresh as well as the catalysts used in CO2 reforming of methane were characterized using N2-physisorption, XRD, FT-IR, XPS, UV, HRTEM, H2-TPR, O2-TPD and TG techniques. The results indicate that upon Y2O3 promotion, the Ni nanoparticles are highly dispersed on the mesoporous walls of SBA-15 via strong interaction between metal ions and the HO–Si-groups of SBA-15. The catalytic performance of the catalysts were evaluated at 700 °C during CH4/CO2 reforming at a gas hourly space velocity of 24 L gcat−1 h−1(at 25 °C and 1 atm) and CH4/CO2molar ratio of 1. The presence of Y2O3 in NiO/SBA-15 results in enhancement of initial catalytic activity. It was observed that the 9 wt% Y–NiO/SBA-15 catalyst performs the best, exhibiting excellent catalytic activity, superior stability and low carbon deposition in a time on stream of 50 h.

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