A novel synthesis approach to improve structural and catalytic properties of Mn-Ni-Si mixed oxide powders for water gas shift reaction

•The Mn-Ni-Si catalyst was synthesized through new inorganic precursor approach.•The synthesized catalyst has the high activity for WGS reaction at 200–400 °C.•The catalyst is more active than a sample prepared by co-precipitation conventional method.

Mn-Ni-Si mixed oxide catalyst synthesized via thermal decomposition of [Mn(H2O)6][Ni(dipic)2]·H2O-SiO2 precursor was evaluated for water gas shift reaction and its structural properties and catalytic activity were compared to those of a sample prepared by co-precipitation conventional method. The results reveal that the catalyst obtained by new inorganic precursor approach presents higher BET specific surface area, smaller particle size, and higher activity in comparison with the co-precipitated catalyst, indicating that inorganic precursor route has more advantages than co-precipitation conventional method for the synthesis of Mn-Ni-Si catalyst.

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