Manipulating ceria-titania binary oxide features and their impact as nickel catalyst supports for low temperature steam reforming of methane

[Display omitted] •Ceria-titania binary oxide supports of different compositions were obtained via sol-gel and flame spray pyrolysis methods.•Sol-gel method allowed better assimilation of ceria and titania precursors, resulting in crystalline mixed oxide supports after calcination.•Flame spray pyrolysis produced high surface area oxides with greater amorphous presence.•Ceria-titania support crystallinity is identified to be another key aspect towards effective nickel-catalysed low temperature steam reforming of methane. Mixed oxides of titanium with cerium were examined for the impact of their reducible oxide properties as a support for nickel-catalysed low temperature steam reforming of methane. Modifications to characteristics of the mixed oxide supports were obtained by varying the relative cerium/titanium composition and utilising different synthesis routes. Sol-gel and flame spray pyrolysis synthesis techniques were employed to achieve this purpose. The sol-gel-prepared supports exhibited improved methane conversion rates with an increased presence of cerium within the support while the catalysts with flame-made supports demonstrated poor stability upon incorporation of cerium at certain ratios. Despite the consistent high surface area and fine nickel dispersion across all flame-synthesised supports, the findings revealed that while these attributes are beneficial for steam reforming catalysis, they do not necessarily assure effective conversions. In addition to the above qualities, the sol-gel-synthesised materials demonstrated that crystalline features of the support also play a vital role in maintaining stable conversions at 500°C.