Ni Nanoparticles Supported on Cage‐Type Mesoporous Silica for CO2 Hydrogenation with High CH4 Selectivity

Abstract Ni nanoparticles (around 4 nm diameter) were successfully supported on cage‐type mesoporous silica SBA‐16 (denoted as Ni@SBA‐16) via wet impregnation at pH 9, followed by the calcination‐reduction process. The Ni@SBA‐16 catalyst with a very high Ni loading amount (22.9 wt %) exhibited exceptionally high CH 4 selectivity for CO 2 hydrogenation. At a nearly identical loading amount, the Ni@SBA‐16 catalysts with smaller particle size of Ni NPs surprisingly exhibited a higher catalytic activity of CO 2 hydrogenation and also led to a higher selectivity on CH 4 formation than the Ni@SiO 2 catalysts. This enhanced activity of the Ni@SBA‐16 catalyst is suggested to be an accumulative result of the advantageous structural properties of the support SBA‐16 and the well confined Ni NPs within the support; both induced a favorable reaction pathway for high selectivity of CH 4 in CO 2 hydrogenation.