The Role of Neodymium in the Optimization of a Ni/CeO2 and Ni/CeZrO2 Methane Dry Reforming Catalyst

The development of a sustainable economy based on the use of renewable resources and the reduction of greenhouse gases emissions is an important mandate in modern societies to minimize the global warming. The CO2-reforming of methane through a conversion of CO2 and CH4 to syngas is a suitable process for this purpose and there is growing interest in the development of new catalysts for this process’ application at an industrial scale. This study is the first to investigate methane dry reforming activity of nickel supported on CeO2 and CeO2–ZrO2 solid solutions doped with neodymium. The supports were synthesized using a surfactant-assisted co-precipitation method and characterized through several analytical techniques to understand the role of synthesis parameters in the distribution of the dopant as well as in the properties of the supports. Co-doping with Zr and Nd resulted in an enhancement of dry reforming activity of ceria due to a higher dispersion of Ni and changes in the strength of basic sites. It was also shown that the addition of Nd helped to mitigate coking issues by increasing the mobility of surface oxygen in ceria and ceria–zirconia oxides and, accordingly, the rate of oxidation of carbonaceous deposits.