A sintering and carbon-resistant Ni-SBA-15 catalyst prepared by solid-state grinding method for dry reforming of methane

Nickel-containing ordered mesoporous silica materials (Ni-SBA-15, Ni-KIT-6 and Ni-MCM-41) were prepared by solid-state grinding method and applied to the dry reforming of methane (DRM). After reacting at 700 °C for 100 h, the catalytic activity and stability declined in the following sequence: Ni-SBA-15 > Ni-KIT-6 > Ni-MCM-41. The characterization results indicated that the average size of the Ni particles on Ni-SBA-15 was ∼3.2 nm, and no visible NiO diffraction peak observed on Ni-SBA-15, implying that the nickel species were highly dispersed on the SBA-15. Moreover, the reduction temperature of Ni species on Ni-SBA-15 obviously shifted to higher temperature compared with the Ni/SBA-15 prepared by impregnation method, indicating that the interaction between the Ni species and mesoporous support was enhanced. The Ni-SBA-15 also presented excellent resistance to the carbon deposition, and the carbon deposition decreased in the order of Ni-MCM-41 (38.8%) > Ni-KIT-6 (8.1%) > Ni-SBA-15 (6.3%) after reacting at 700 °C for 100 h.