The role of Mo species in Ni-Mo catalysts for dry reforming of methane

Weiqiao Huang; Changgeng Wei; Yi Li; Yongfan Zhang; Wei Lin

doi:10.1039/d2cp02120j

The role of Mo species in Ni-Mo catalysts for dry reforming of methane

Phys Chem Chem Phys. 2022 Sep 14;24(35):21461-21469. doi: 10.1039/d2cp02120j.

Authors

Weiqiao Huang¹, Changgeng Wei¹, Yi Li^{1

2}, Yongfan Zhang^{1

2}, Wei Lin^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Photocatalysis on Energy and Environment, College of Chemistry, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou 350108, P. R. China. liy99@fzu.edu.cn.
² Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Theoretical and Computational Chemistry, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian 361005, China.

PMID: 36048173
DOI: 10.1039/d2cp02120j

Abstract

The Ni-Mo catalyst has attracted significant attention due to its excellent coke-resistance in dry reforming of methane (DRM) reaction, but its detailed mechanism is still vague. Herein, Mo-doped Ni (Ni-Mo_x) and MoO_x adsorbed Ni surfaces (MoO_x@Ni) are employed to explore the DRM reaction mechanism and the effect of coke-resistance. Due to the electron donor effect of Mo, the antibonding states below the Fermi level between Ni and C increase and the adsorption of C decrease, thereby inhibiting the carbonization of Ni. On account of the strong Mo and O interaction, more O atoms gather around Mo, which inhibits the oxidation of Ni and may promote the formation of MoO_x species on the Ni-Mo catalyst. The presence of Mo-O species promotes the carbon oxidation, forming a unique redox cycle (MoO_x ↔ MoO_x-1) similar to the Mars-van Krevelen (MvK) mechanism, explaining the excellent anti-carbon deposition effect on the Ni-Mo catalyst.