COx-free hydrogen and carbon nanofibers production by thermocatalytic decomposition of methane over mesoporous MgO·Al2O3 nanopowder-supported nickel catalysts

•MgAl2O4 as support for the Ni based catalysts was synthesized by a sol-gel method.•The catalysts exhibited mesoporous structure with high BET area.•Increasing Ni and decreasing MgO/Al2O3 molar ratio enhanced the CH4 conversions.•Increasing the GHSV and CH4/N2 ratio leads to a decrease in CH4 conversion.

The catalytic performance of nickel catalysts with various nickel loadings supported on mesoporous nanocrystalline MgO·Al2O3 powders with different MgO/Al2O3 molar ratios (0.5, 1, 1.5, and 2) was investigated in the thermocatalytic decomposition of methane. The catalysts carriers were prepared by a simple and fast sol-gel method. This procedure led to the synthesis of the supports with high BET area and mesoporous structure. The samples were characterized by XRD, BET, SEM, H2-TPR and TPO methods. The catalysts with various nickel contents (10, 25, 40, and 55 wt%) exhibited high catalytic potential in this proves. The sample with the highest amount of Ni (55 wt% Ni/2MgO·Al2O3) possessed an acceptable catalytic performance.