An in-situ synthesis of low-cost mesostructured nickel nanoparticles embedded carbon/silica composite via a solid–liquid grinding route and its application for the carbon dioxide reforming of methane

• Published in: International journal of hydrogen energy Vol. 41; no. 25; pp. 10680 - 10687
• Main Authors: Lu, Peng, Xing, Chuang, Li, Hangjie, Gai, Xikun, Wei, Qinhong, Tan, Li, Lu, Chengxue, Shen, Wenzhong, Yang, Ruiqin, Tsubaki, Noritatsu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 06-07-2016
• Subjects: Carbon; Carbon dioxide; Carbon/silica composite; Catalysis; Catalysts; In-situ reduction; Mesostructure; Nickel; Reforming; Silicon dioxide; Solid–liquid grinding; Synthesis; Solid–liquid grinding; Reforming; In-situ reduction; Mesostructure; Carbon/silica composite
• ISSN: 0360-3199; 1879-3487
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2016.04.112

A facile synthesis route for directly preparing Ni-based mesoporous carbon/silica composite catalysts without further reduction was synthesized successfully. The synthesis procedure was achieved by using the one-step solid–liquid grinding method with a mixture of SiO2, soybean oil, and nickel acetyl acetonate. Calcination was then performed with different temperatures to obtain the Ni-based mesoporous carbon/silica composite catalyst. All experimental steps were conducted without solvent addition. In this catalyst structure, soybean was used as the carbon source and provided a large surface area within the silica skeleton; Ni0 was used as the active metal. The active component Ni0 was formed directly during the soybean oil carbonization process. A series of Ni/SiO2–C–X catalysts (X = 400–1100, X stands for the carbonization temperature) were applied for the CO2 reforming of CH4 reaction. The unreduced Ni-based catalyst showed a better catalytic activity than that of the reduced catalyst under hydrogen atmosphere because the NiO phase was in-situ reduced by the carbonized soybean under nitrogen. The Ni/SiO2–C–500 catalyst showed stable activity and high reaction activity in the continuous CO2 reforming reaction of CH4 at atmospheric pressure.
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•Ni-based mesoporous carbon/silica composite catalysts were synthesized successfully.•Ni0 as the active metal was formed directly during the soybean oil carbonization process.•The Ni/SiO2–C–500 catalyst showed a better catalytic activity than that of the reduced catalyst under hydrogen atmosphere.