CO and CO2 methanation over Ni/Al@Al2O3 core–shell catalyst.

• Core–shell Al@Al2O3 was used as the support in supported Ni catalysts. • The Al@Al2O3 is better than γ-Al2O3 to develop a highly efficient Ni-based catalyst. • The deposition–precipitation method outperforms the wet impregnation method. • Higher Ni dispersion resulted in better catalytic performance for CO methanation. • The higher density of medium basic sites increases the CO 2 methanation activity. Core–shell Al@Al 2 O 3 , which was obtained by hydrothermal surface oxidation of Al metal particles, was used as the support in supported Ni catalysts for CO and CO 2 methanation. The core–shell micro-structured support (Al@Al 2 O 3) helped develop a highly efficient Ni-based catalyst compared with conventional γ-Al 2 O 3 for these reactions. Moreover, the deposition–precipitation method was shown to outperform the wet impregnation method in the preparation of the active supported Ni catalysts. The catalysts were characterized using various techniques, namely, N 2 physisorption, H 2 chemisorption, CO 2 chemisorption, temperature-programmed reduction with H 2 , temperature-programmed desorption after CO 2 adsorption, X-ray diffraction, inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, and in situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy. Higher Ni dispersion when using Al@Al 2 O 3 as the support and the deposition–precipitation method resulted in better catalytic performance for CO methanation. Furthermore, the higher density of medium basic sites and enhanced CO 2 adsorption capacity observed for Ni/Al@Al 2 O 3 helped increase catalytic activity for CO 2 methanation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]