Effect of titania synthesis conditions on the catalytic performance of mesoporous Ni/TiO2 catalysts for carbon dioxide reforming of methane

The catalytic performance of 5 wt% Ni/TiO₂ catalysts with different physicochemical properties was studied for the CO₂ reforming of methane reaction. The TiO₂ supports were prepared by the evaporation-induced self-assembly method using three different titania metal precursors. The catalysts were characterized by XRD, BET, TGA, and TEM techniques. The results showed that the phase composition of TiO₂ support plays a crucial role in catalyst performance. Furthermore, the variation of synthesis conditions significantly affects the physicochemical properties of TiO₂ support. NH₃-treatment helped maintain the higher surface area by retaining a significant fraction of the amorphous content of titania support. Catalysts deactivation was caused by the phase transformation of TiO₂ from anatase to rutile and the sintering of Ni metal. Phase transformation into rutile was more significant, with the catalysts possessing a higher content of amorphous TiO₂. Ni/TiO₂ catalyst prepared using the titanium ethoxide precursor performed better in the dry reforming reaction. Anatase titania offers strong metal-support interaction, whereas weak metal-support interaction was observed in the amorphous and rutile phase.