Abstract
The properties of supports (such as oxygen vacancies, oxygen species properties, etc.) significantly impact the anti-carbon ability due to their promotional effect on the activation of CO(2) in dry reforming of methane (DRM). Herein, pyrochlore-type La(2)Ce(2)O(7) compounds prepared using co-precipitation (CP), glycine nitrate combustion (GNC) and sol-gel (S-G) methods, which have highly thermal stability and unique oxygen mobility, are applied as supports to prepare Ni-based catalysts for DRM. The effect of the calcining temperature (500, 600 and 700 °C) on La(2)Ce(2)O(7)(CP) has also been investigated. Based on multi-technique characterizations, it is found that the synthesis method and calcination temperature can influence the particle size of the La(2)Ce(2)O(7) support. Changes in particle size strongly modulate the pore volume, specific surface area and numbers of surface oxygen vacancies of the La(2)Ce(2)O(7) support. As a result, the distribution of supported Ni components is affected due to the different metal-support interaction, thereby altering the activity of the catalysts for cracking CH(4). Moreover, the supports' abilities to adsorb and activate CO(2) are also adjusted accordingly, accelerating the removal of the carbon deposited on the catalysts. Finally, La(2)Ce(2)O(7)(CP 600) with an appropriate particle size exhibits the best catalytic activity and stability in DRM.