Confining Ni nanoparticles in honeycomb-like silica for coking and sintering resistant partial oxidation of methane

3D honeycomb-like silica surrounded by ZrO2 layer (3HL-ZrO2-SiO2) was prepared via sol-gel coating method. The average cell diameter of prepared material is about 10 nm. The highly dispersed Ni nanoparticles were immobilized to cell of honeycomb by impregnation method. The synthesized catalysts were characterized by SEM, TEM, XRD, H2-TPR/TPD, TGA and N2 adsorption-desorption techniques. Contributed by confinement of honeycomb-like silica, the Ni/3HL-ZrO2-SiO2 catalyst showed superior anti-sintering and coking ability compared with conventional catalysts. Further, improving the oxygen storage capacity from ZrO2 and highly dispersed active-sites afford excellent catalytic activity. CH4 conversion up to 90%–92% was obtained. The blocking effect of honeycomb cell endowed outstanding sintering resistance referring to Ni based catalysts.