Highly Dispersed Nickel-Containing Mesoporous Silica with Superior Stability in Carbon Dioxide Reforming of Methane: The Effect of Anchoring

A series of nickel-containing mesoporous silica samples (Ni-SiO2) with different nickel content (3.1%-13.2%) were synthesized by the evaporation-induced self-assembly method. Their catalytic activity was tested in carbon dioxide reforming of methane. The characterization results revealed that the catalysts, e.g., 6.7% Ni-SiO2, with highly dispersed small nickel particles, exhibited excellent catalytic activity and long-term stability. The metallic nickel particle size was significantly affected by the metal anchoring effect between metallic nickel particles and unreduced nickel ions in the silica matrix. A strong anchoring effect was suggested to account for the remaining of small Ni particle size and the improved catalytic performance.