A highly dispersed and anti-coking Ni–La2O3/SiO2 catalyst for syngas production from dry carbon dioxide reforming of methane

Syngas production from dry carbon dioxide reforming of methane was studied on a Ni/SiO2 doped with La2O3 catalyst prepared via an in situ self-assembled core–shell precursor route. Highly dispersed nickel of particle size <3.0 nm on the Ni–La2O3/SiO2 catalyst was successfully achieved. The addition of La2O3 enhanced the interaction between NiO and the silica support to form a more stable nickel silicate. The resulting Ni–La2O3/SiO2 catalyst showed excellent catalytic activity and stability without any coking behaviour even after 100 hours of reaction on stream. In contrast, the Ni–La2O3/SiO2 catalyst prepared using a conventional incipient wetness impregnation method exhibited poor catalytic activity and a high coke formation rate.