Enhancement of the catalytic performance and coke resistance of alcohol-promoted Ni/MCM-41 catalysts for CH4/CO2 reforming

A series of Ni-based catalysts were prepared by the alcohol-promoted impregnation for CO2 reforming of methane. In order to illuminate the effects of carbon chain numbers and hydroxyl group numbers on the catalytic performance and coke resistance of Ni-based catalysts, the samples were characterized by XRD, SEM, BET, H2-TPR, FT-IR, XPS, TG, and TEM. The results show that the introduction of alcohol during impregnation promotes Ni2+ species into the channels of MCM-41, thereby strengthening the meatal-support interaction. Besides, the presence of alcohol decreases the particle size of Nickel and increases the surface adsorbed oxygen species over the surface of the support, thus promoting the coke resistance of the catalysts. As a consequence, NM-EG shows the highest catalytic performance, the highest stability, and the best coke resistance in all of the catalysts. This indicates that the main factor influencing the catalytic performance and coke resistance of the catalysts is the number of hydroxyl groups rather than the chain length of the introduced alcohol in the alcohol-promoted impregnation.