Effect of titania synthesis conditions on the catalytic performance of mesoporous Ni/TiO2 catalysts for carbon dioxide reforming of methane

The catalytic performance of 5 wt% Ni/TiO2 catalysts with different physicochemical properties was studied for the CO2 reforming of methane reaction. The TiO2 supports were prepared by the evaporation-induced self-assembly method using three different titania metal precursors. The catalysts were characterized by XRD, BET, TGA, and TEM techniques. The results showed that the phase composition of TiO2 support plays a crucial role in catalyst performance. Furthermore, the variation of synthesis conditions significantly affects the physicochemical properties of TiO2 support. NH3-treatment helped maintain the higher surface area by retaining a significant fraction of the amorphous content of titania support. Catalysts deactivation was caused by the phase transformation of TiO2 from anatase to rutile and the sintering of Ni metal. Phase transformation into rutile was more significant, with the catalysts possessing a higher content of amorphous TiO2. Ni/TiO2 catalyst prepared using the titanium ethoxide precursor performed better in the dry reforming reaction. Anatase titania offers strong metal-support interaction, whereas weak metal-support interaction was observed in the amorphous and rutile phase.