Plasma-assisted dry reforming of methane over Mo2C-Ni/Al2O3 catalysts: effects of β-Mo2C promoter

Abstract Non-thermal plasma (NTP) coupled with catalysis provides a way to enable the dry reforming of methane (DRM) reaction to occur at low temperatures. While assistance of NTP brings the negative issue of coke deposition due to the faster rate of CH4 dissociation induced by NTP. Herein, β-Mo2C was employed as an effective component to activate CO2 and collaborated with Ni/γ-Al2O3 for the plasma-assisted DRM reaction. Addition of β-Mo2C facilitated the charge deposition, and Ni nanoparticles were found to re-disperse over the β-Mo2C surface due to the strong interaction between Ni and β-Mo2C. Benefiting from the new active interface of Ni-Mo2C, the mechanically mixed Mo2C-Ni/Al2O3 catalyst exhibited much better activity and stability as compared with the undoped Ni/Al2O3 catalyst. The present study reveals the crucial roles of β-Mo2C additives, providing practical solutions to depress carbon deposition, and thereby enhance the catalytic stability in plasma-assisted DRM reaction.