Carbon deposition is sensitive to the metal particle sizes of supported Ni catalysts in CH_4/CO_2 reforming.To explore the reason of this phenomenon,Ni4,Ni8,and Ni12 which re flect the different cluster thicknesses supported on the MgO(100) slabs,have been employed to simulate Ni/MgO catalysts,and the reaction pathways of CH_4/CO_2 reforming on Nix/MgO(100) models are investigated by density functional theory.The reforming mechanisms of CH_4/CO_2 on different Nix/MgO(100) indicate the energy barriers of CH_4 dissociated adsorption,CH dissociation,and C oxidation three factors are all declining with the decrease of the Ni cluster sizes.The Hirshfeld charges analyses of three steps as described above show only Ni atoms in bottom two layers can obtain electrons from the MgO supporters,and the main electron transfer occurs between adsorbed species and their directly contacted Ni atoms.Due to more electron-rich Ni atoms in contact with the MgO supporters,the Ni/MgO catalysts with small Ni particles have a strong metal particle size effect and lead to its better catalytic activity.
The CO2reforming of CH4is studied over MgO‐promoted Ni catalysts,which were supported on alumina prepared from hydrotalcite.This presents an improved stability compared with non‐promoted catalysts.The introduction of the MgO promoter was achieved through the‘‘memory effect’’of the Ni‐Al hydrotalcite structure,and ICP‐MS confirmed that only0.42wt.%of Mg2+ions were added into the Ni‐Mg/Al catalyst.Although no differences in the Ni particle size and basicity strength were observed,the Ni‐Mg/Al catalyst showed a higher catalytic stability than the Ni/Al catalyst.A series of surface reaction experiments were used and showed that the addition of a MgO promoter with low concentration can promote CO2dissociation to form active surface oxygen arising from the formation of the Ni‐MgO interface sites.Therefore,the carbon‐resistance promotion by nature was suggested to contribute to an oxidative environment around Ni particles,which would increase the conversion of carbon residues from CH4cracking to yield CO on the Ni metal surface.?2018,Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics,Chinese Academy of Sciences.Published by Elsevier B.V.All rights reserved.
