Effect of support on hydrogen production by auto-thermal reforming of ethanol over supported nickel catalysts

Nickel catalysts supported on various supports such as ZnO, MgO, ZrO 2 , TiO 2 , and Al 2 O 3 were prepared by an impregnation method to investigate the effect of support on catalytic performance in hydrogen production by auto-thermal reforming of ethanol. Among the supported catalysts, the Ni/ZrO 2 and Ni/TiO 2 catalysts showed better catalytic performance than the other catalysts. The electronic structure of nickel species supported on ZrO 2 and TiO 2 was favorably modified for the reaction, and thus, the reducibility of nickel species supported on ZrO 2 and TiO 2 was increased due to the weak interaction between nickel and support. On the other hand, the Ni/MgO and Ni/ZnO catalysts exhibited poor catalytic performance in the auto-thermal reforming of ethanol due to the formation of a solid solution phase.