Synthesis and physicochemical characterizations of Ni/Al2O3–ZrO2 nanocatalyst prepared via impregnation method and treated with non-thermal plasma for CO2 reforming of CH4

Ni/Al2O3 and Ni/Al2O3–ZrO2 nanocatalysts synthesized via impregnation and treated with non-thermal plasma were investigated in dry reforming of methane. The results showed that plasma treatment produces highly dispersed nanoparticles with a high surface area. Strong interaction between active phase and support particles in plasma-treated catalysts can be concluded based on XRD and XPS results. Smaller Ni particles with narrow particle size distribution were observed in plasma-treated Ni/Al2O3–ZrO2 nanocatalyst. The catalytic activity of plasma-treated Ni/Al2O3–ZrO2 was higher than that of conventional catalyst, resulting in operating conditions with considerably lower temperatures. Long reaction times confirmed the stability of the plasma-treated Ni/Al2O3–ZrO2 nanocatalyst.