Dependency of CO2 methanation on the strong metal-support interaction for supported Ni/CeO2 catalysts

• Published in: Journal of catalysis 2022-09, Vol.413 (C), p.821-828
• Main Authors: Pu, Tiancheng, Chen, Jiacheng, Tu, Weifeng, Xu, Jing, Han, Yi-Fan, Wachs, Israel E., Zhu, Minghui
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Ceria; Chemistry; CO2 methanation; Engineering; INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY; Nickel catalyst; Strong metal-support interaction
• ISSN: 0021-9517; 1090-2694
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jcat.2022.07.038

[Display omitted] •The susceptibilities to SMSI effect vary with CeO2 nanostructures in Ni/CeO2.•CO2 hydrogenation activity follows the same trend of the degree of SMSI effect.•XPS & FT-IR of CO adsorption probe the interface of CeO2-encapsulated Ni particles.•Reaction pathway & CH4 selectivity are dependent on the degree of SMSI effect. The strong metal-support interaction (SMSI) for supported Ni/CeO2 catalysts with different CeO2 nanomorphologies was systematically explored. The degree of encapsulation of Ni particles originating from the SMSI effect was found to follow the trend of Ni/CeO2-(111) > Ni/CeO2-(100) > Ni/CeO2-(110 + 100), which parallels the CO2 hydrogenation activity. Quasi in situ XPS reveals the presence of Ce3+ sites in accordance with the formation of an amorphous surface CeOx layer encapsulating the Ni nanoparticles. In situ DRIFTS indicates the reaction pathway and rate-determining step are dependent on the degree of the SMSI effect, leading to distinct selectivities towards CH4, especially at a high weight hourly space velocity (WHSV). These findings present a fundamental strategy about tailoring catalytic performance through support facet dependent susceptibility of SMSI phenomena.