Rational Design of High Surface Area Mesoporous Ni/CeO2 for Partial Oxidation of Propane

A Ni loaded catalyst on mesoporous ceria, with a large surface area, prepared through the surfactant-assisted precipitation and impregnation method was investigated as an efficient catalyst for propane partial oxidation to produce synthesis gas. The results show that 2.5 wt% Ni/CeO2 had the optimum Ni loading, exhibiting the highest catalytic propane conversion. It also showed excellent stability, with no obvious activity drop after a 10 h time-on-stream reaction and slightly decreased in H2 and CO yields. The investigation of the reactant composition effect on carbon formation showed that by decreasing the C/O2 ratio the content of accumulated carbon decreased and propane conversion increased. The good activity of the Ni/CeO2 can be ascribed to the high surface area and rich surface defects of the ceria support and a high dispersion of active sites (Ni nanoparticles)