Perovskite LaNiO3 Nanocrystals inside SBA-15 Silica: High Stability and Anti-Coking Performance in the Pre-Reforming of Liquefied Petroleum Gas at a Low Steam-to-Carbon Molar Ratio

A high loading of LaNiO3 perovskite nanocrystals (83 wt %) was successfully incorporated inside the ordered mesoporous framework of SBA-15 silica by a citric acid assisted impregnation method. The obtained LaNiO3/SBA-15 material produced both La2O3 nanoparticles and metal Ni nanoparticles with intimate contact and highly dispersed in the mesoporous SBA-15 framework upon reduction with H2, and it showed high activity, high stability, and good anti-coking ability for the low-temperature steam reforming of liquefied petroleum gas at a low steam/carbon ratio of 1.0. The excellent performance of the LaNiO3/SBA-15 material was attributed to the formation of synergistic active sites in the interfacial area, which consisted of metal Ni and La2O2CO3 species, and the confinement effect of the mesoporous structure on the Ni and La2O3 species.