In situ generation of active motifs on Ni/Al2O3 during partial oxidation of methane to syngas
Open Access
- 14 August 2026
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Springer Nature in Nature Catalysis
- Vol. 9 (8) , 848-857
Abstract
The active phase for the partial oxidation of methane (POM) to syngas on Ni catalysts has been attributed to metallic nanoparticles, with high Ni loadings (~10 wt%) considered essential. Here we show, on NiO surfaces, that in situ-generated [Ni 1 O 1 Ni 4 ] motifs, where one Ni atom sits on an oxygen atom that bridges four surrounding Ni atoms, drive POM with promising efficiency. A Ni/Al 2 O 3 -ME catalyst with Ni loading of 0.8 wt% fabricated via deposition of preformed Ni nanoparticles onto Al 2 O 3 achieves 92.0% CH 4 conversion and 87.0% CO/H 2 selectivity at 650 °C for POM, maintaining a stable H 2 /CO ratio of 2.0. Operando spectroscopy and environmental microscopy confirm the oxidation of metallic Ni to NiO during POM. The results of operando high-resolution annular bright-field imaging, combined with density functional theory calculations, suggest that the [Ni 1 O 1 Ni 4 ] structure formed on the NiO(100) surface reduces the C–H activation barrier to 12.5 kcal mol −1 . Thus, metallic Ni nanoparticles with high metal loadings may not be strictly required for efficient POM.Keywords
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