Preparation of bimetallic Ni@Ru nanoparticles supported on SiO2 and their catalytic performance for CO methanation

Abstract Bimetallic Ni@Ru nanoparticles with Ni core and Ru shell supported on SiO 2 were prepared by impregnation method using a perovskite-type oxide of LaRu x Ni 1−x O 3 as the precursor and used as catalysts for CO methanation. The catalysts were characterized by using BET, XRD, H 2 -TPR, HRTEM + EDX, ICP, H 2 chemisorption, XPS and TGA techniques. By reducing the catalysts with hydrogen, bimetallic nanoparticles with the structure of nickel shell and ruthenium core of Ru@Ni supported on SiO 2 doped with La 2 O 3 were made, and the Ru would migrate to the surface of the Ni-Ru cluster forming the ruthenium shell and nickel core of Ni@Ru under CO atmosphere. The supported bimetal catalysts with core–shell structure by doping small amount of noble metal exhibited very good catalytic performance for CO methanation, especially showed excellent resistance to carbon deposition and metal sintering, while the monometallic catalyst of nickel showed inferior catalytic performance.