The importance of inner cavity space within Ni@SiO2 nanocapsule catalysts for excellent coking resistance in the high-space-velocity dry reforming of methane

Metal sintering and carbon deposition are acknowledged to be the foremost critical issues in the important energy storage process of high temperature Dry Reforming of Methane (DRM). For that process, so-called “core-shell catalysts” have exhibited outstanding catalytic performance. However, the intrinsic confined geometric space of the host core-shell structure not only inevitably limits the ability of the catalyst system to facilitate the critical rapid infusion and diffusion of reacting gases, but also enhances the accompanying conversion of carbon intermediates to inert, catalyst-deactivating carbonaceous deposits under high-space-velocity conditions. Herein, we present a study highlighting the importance of the inner cavity space, now of a quasi-zero-dimensional, tubular, yolk-shell structured Ni@SiO2 nanocapsule catalyst, in the DRM process. The tubular yolk-shell structured Ni@SiO2 nanocapsule catalysts having controlled inner cavities (5.0–13.0 nm × 5.0–50.0 nm dimensions) were synthesised via a water-in-oil micro-emulsion method by employing different aging times (i.e. 3 h, 6 h and 12 h). Compared with corresponding Ni@SiO2 nanosphere catalysts, the tubular nanocapsule catalysts displayed both excellent catalyst activity, stability, and (metal) anti-sintering ability with, equally important, negligible carbon deposition during the operating DRM process under high space velocity conditions (60 L g−1 h−1), most relevant for application in real industrial processes.