CH4 Reforming by CO2 and O2 Using Ni-M (M= Cu, Fe, Co, Mn, Zn, Cr) Bimetallic Aerogel Catalysts

Ni-M (Metal=Cu, Fe, Co, Mn, Zn, Cr) aerogel catalysts were tested for CH4 oxy-CO₂ reforming. It was found that the Ni-Co bimetallic aerogel catalyst had the highest activity and stability in methane oxy-CO₂ reforming among all the Ni-M aerogel catalysts. It exhibited a steady activity of 79 % (in terms of CH₄ conversion) at 750 °C, which is the highest activity under a similar reaction condition as compared with those published in literature. Characterizations for the reduced catalysts indicated the formation of Ni-Co alloy, while other transition metals separated from Ni during the reduction process. Therefore, the active species in the Ni-Co bimetallic catalyst showed a stronger interaction than those in other Ni-M catalysts, which might be one of the main reasons for the better catalytic performance of the catalyst.