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The catalyst has a significant role in gas processing applications such as reforming technologies for H2 and syngas production. The stable catalyst is requisite for any industrial catalysis application to make it commercially viable. Several methods are employed to synthesize the catalysts. However, there is still a challenge to achieve a controlled morphology and pure catalyst which majorly influences the catalytic activity in reforming applications. The conventional methods are expansive, and the removal of the impurities are major challenges. Nevertheless, it is not straightforward to achieve the desired structure and stability. Therefore, significant interest has been developed on the advanced techniques to take control of the physicochemical properties of the catalyst through non-thermal plasma (NTP) techniques. In this review, the systematic evolution of the catalyst synthesis using NTP technique is elucidated. The emerging DBD plasma to synthesized and effective surface treatment is reviewed. DBD plasma synthesized catalyst performance in reforming application for H2 and syngas production is summarised. Furthermore, the status of DBD plasma for catalyst synthesis and proposed future avenues to design environmentally suitable and cost-effective synthesis techniques are discussed.

The excess emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs) such as CO2 and CH4 is posing an acute threat to the environment, and efficient ways are being sought to utilize GHGs to produce syngas (H2, CO) and lighter hydrocarbons (HCs). In this study, the dry reforming of methane (DRM) has been carried out at 700 °C using La2O3 co-supported Ni/MgAl2O4 nano-catalyst in a fixed bed thermal reactor. The catalyst is characterized using various techniques such as XRD, FESEM, EDX-mapping, CO2-TPD, H2-TPR and TGA. The modified MgAl2O4 shows the flake type structure after the addition of La2O3. The TPR and TPD analysis shows the highly dispersed metal and strong basic nature of the catalyst consequently enhances the conversion of CO2 and CH4. The highest conversion for CH4 is 87.3% while CO2 conversion is nearly 89.5% in 20 h of operation time. The selectivity of H2 and CO approached 50% making the H2/CO ratio above unity. In the longer time-on-stream (TOS) test, the catalyst shows elevated potential for longer runs showcasing better catalytic activity. The stability of the catalyst is indicated via a proposed reaction mechanism for DRM in operating conditions. Moreover, TGA indicates the lower weight loss of spent catalyst which ascribed the lower formation of carbon during TOS 20 h.

Co/TiO2–MgAl2O4 was investigated in a fixed bed reactor for the dry reforming of methane (DRM) process. Co/TiO2–MgAl2O4 was prepared by modified co-precipitation, followed by the hydrothermal method. The active metal Co was loaded via the wetness impregnation method. The prepared catalyst was characterized by XRD, SEM, TGA, and FTIR. The performance of Co/TiO2–MgAl2O4 for the DRM process was investigated in a reactor with a temperature of 750 °C, a feed ratio (CO2/CH4) of 1, a catalyst loading of 0.5 g, and a feed flow rate of 20 mL min−1. The effect of support interaction with metal and the composite were studied for catalytic activity, the composite showing significantly improved results. Moreover, among the tested Co loadings, 5 wt% Co over the TiO2–MgAl2O4 composite shows the best catalytic performance. The 5%Co/TiO2–MgAl2O4 improved the CH4 and CO2 conversion by up to 70% and 80%, respectively, while the selectivity of H2 and CO improved to 43% and 46.5%, respectively. The achieved H2/CO ratio of 0.9 was due to the excess amount of CO produced because of the higher conversion rate of CO2 and the surface carbon reaction with oxygen species. Furthermore, in a time on stream (TOS) test, the catalyst exhibited 75 h of stability with significant catalytic activity. Catalyst potential lies in catalyst stability and performance results, thus encouraging the further investigation and use of the catalyst for the long-run DRM process.