Effect of modified surface of Co/Al2O3 on properties and catalytic performance for CO2 reforming of methane

This work objective is to reveal the advantages of the 10 wt.%Co/Al2O3 catalyst that the Co surface was constructed through the impregnation associated with the six hours of ammonia vapor diffusion (10Co(T)/Al2O3). The modified surface catalyst was characterized and tested for CO2 reforming of methane reaction (CRM) that converts two main greenhouse gases into H2 fuel and syngas. Compared with the 10 wt.%Co/Al2O3 catalyst that the Co surface formed by traditional impregnation (10Co/Al2O3), the characterization outcome examined the creation of high-dispersive Co species on the modified surface catalyst. The dispersion of cobalt oxide derived by this method provided more Co2+/Co3+ on the surface, collaborated with the stronger metal-support interaction, which generates more oxygen vacancies. Consequently, this modified Co surface on 10 wt.%Co/Al2O3 catalyst demonstrated higher activities and prevented the deposition of the hardest removable coke type during the CRM reaction time-on-stream. Overall, the Co surface of 10 wt.%Co/Al2O3 catalyst prepared by impregnation associated with the six hours of ammonia vapor diffusion had formed a high dispersion of small Co2+/Co3+ connecting with the support that developed abilities of Co/Al2O3 catalyst into a more practical CRM catalyst.