Dry reforming of methane over Ni supported on doped CeO2: New insight on the role of dopants for CO2 activation.

The role of dopants on the catalytic activity for the dry reforming of methane (DRM) was investigated on nickel supported on metal doped ceria (Me-DC) catalysts, Ni/Me0.15Ce0.85O2-δ with Me=Zr4+, La3+ or Sm3+, prepared by citric acid synthetic route. The catalytic activity was in the order Ni/Zr-DC< Zr-DC > CeO2. The extra oxygen vacancies introduced by La3+ and Sm3+ were not capable to split CO2. La-DC and Sm-DC showed significant differences in the numbers and strength of surface basic sites. Therefore, other phenomena rule the formation/removal of carbon on these catalysts. The nature of dopants influenced the Ni-supports interaction and the electronic state of the metal catalyst