Dry reforming of methane by La2NiO4 perovskite oxide, part I: Preparation and characterization of the samples

One of the research priorities in dry reforming of methane (DRM) technology is the development of highly active and stable catalysts. Using crystalline oxides as catalyst precursors is an effective catalyst optimization scheme for DRM. Therefore, the application of La2NiO4 perovskite in DRM was systematically studied, including preparation, characterization, carbon deposition properties, regeneration properties, and B-site doping, etc. This paper is the first part, the effects of preparation methods (sol-gel, co-precipitation, hydro-thermal, and solid-state methods) on the physicochemical properties and DRM performance of La2NiO4 samples were investigated, and the relationship between materials' structure and their catalytic performance was analyzed. The results showed that compared with the samples prepared by the hydro-thermal and co-precipitate methods, the sample prepared by the sol-gel method exhibited the highest conversion of CH4 and CO2 (91.4% and 91.5%, respectively) and the best carbon resistance in DRM, which were mainly attributed to its richer microstructure, higher reducibility and basicity. While the lowest DRM performance of the sample prepared by the solid-state method was mainly due to the small amount of reduced amorphous NiO and the weak reducibility of the perovskite phase in this sample, resulting in the inability of perovskite in-situ decomposition under the DRM atmosphere.