A coupling bimetallic Ni-La/MCM-41 catalyst enhanced by radio frequency (RF) plasma for dry reforming

Controlling nickel particle size and inhibiting coke deposition on the supported catalyst are enormous challenges. To solve these problems, La-doped nickel-based catalysts using MCM-41 as the support were prepared via the radio frequency (RF) plasma-enhanced method. The Ni-La-Imp-P catalyst with a smaller nickel particle size, higher nickel dispersion, and a stronger metal-support interaction possessed more surface adsorbed oxygen than the conventional Ni-La-Imp catalyst, which was beneficial for the formation of more active Ni sites and enhanced the catalytic performance. In particular, the Ni-La-Imp-P catalyst showed excellent resistance to carbon deposition, and the carbon weight loss of the spent catalyst was only 5.94%, which was much less than those of conventional Ni-La-Imp (18.49%) and Ni-La-Sol (12.60%) catalysts. Nickel nanoparticles can effectively inhibit the growth of the carbon chain or the formation of the C-C bond to cover the surface site of Ni-La-Imp-P, thus reducing the formation of graphitic carbon and realizing the directional conversion of C (CH4 and CO2). Hence, the Ni-La-Imp-P catalyst activated by plasma proved to be a new method for enabling resistance to carbon deposition in dry reforming of methane.

Automated summary

The La-doped nickel-based catalyst supported on MCM-41 prepared via the RF plasma-enhanced method showed better resistance to carbon deposition, with the Ni-La-Imp-P catalyst exhibiting significantly less carbon weight loss compared to conventional Ni-La-Imp and Ni-La-Sol catalysts.