CO methanation on Ni-Ce mixed oxides prepared by hard template method

Hard-templated NiO-CeO2 samples with increasing Ni/Ce molar ratios, as well as hard-templated CeO2and NiO oxides were characterized by different techniques as chemical composition, structure, morphology, texture, and redox features. They were investigated in the CO methanation reaction after mild reduction pretreatment (H2 at 400◦C for 1 h). Almost complete CO conversion and very high CH4 selectivity were obtained at 300◦C over the NiCe mixedoxides, with CO2 as byproduct. CH4 selectivity was found to increase with the increase in Ni content. A growth in the size of Ni particles with the same parameter was also observed, suggesting an influence of the crystallite size on methane formation.