Influences of doping Cr/Fe/Ta on the performance of Ni/CeO2 catalyst under microwave irradiation in dry reforming of CH4

•The influences of doping Cr, Fe and Ta on Ni/CeO2 were investigated.•The catalytic performances before and after doping were investigated.•The in-situ grown graphene can promote the conversion of reactants.

The structure of Ni/CeO2 catalyst with doping of Cr, Fe and Ta was investigated with XRD, N2 physisorption, XPS and HRTEM and the catalytic activity of the catalysts under microwave irradiation in dry reforming of methane was tested in a microwave reactor. The results show that the introduction of Cr and Ta to Ni/CeO2 can enhance the interaction between Ni and the support/promoter and inhibit the enlargement of NiO particles during the synthesis. The CH4 conversions in dry reforming on the catalysts follow the order: Ni/CeO2<2Fe–Ni<2Ta–Ni<2Cr–Ni. The superior performance of 2Ta–Ni and 2Cr–Ni may be attributed to the locally-heated Ni particles caused by the strong microwave absorption of the in-situ grown graphene attached on them under microwave irradiation.

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