Synthesis of flowerlike ceria–zirconia solid solution for promoting dry reforming of methane

Using a newly developed two-step hydrothermal process, flowerlike Ce_0.5Zr_0.5O₂ with an oxygen storage capacity (OSC) of 536 μmol O₂ g⁻¹, almost twice as high as that of pure flowerlike CeO₂ (284 μmol O₂ g⁻¹), can be synthesized. The synthesized ceria-based oxide supports loaded with Ni are dispersed in a ceramic fiber network to form paper-structured catalysts (PSCs). Among the prepared PSCs, the PSC with the flowerlike Ce_0.5Zr_0.5O₂ exhibits the highest catalytic performance for dry reforming of methane (DRM) at 750 °C with the initial methane conversion of 88.4%, degradation rate of 0.1% h⁻¹ and amount of deposited carbon of 0.04 g per gram catalyst, whereas for the Ce_0.5Zr_0.5O₂ synthesized by the one-step hydrothermal process, the values are 83.7%, 0.62% h⁻¹ and 0.07 g per gram catalyst, respectively. This is attributed to the Ni anti-sintering on the petals of the flowerlike structure and the coking tolerance resulting from the high OSC.