Studies of the metal–support interaction in coprecipitated nickel on alumina methanation catalysts using X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS)

Abstract

Abstract Characterization studies on a series of coprecipitated alumina‐supported nickel methanation catalysts by X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy are described. Binding energies and spectral shapes have been determined for several standard compounds (Ni, NiO, Ni(OH) 2 , NiAl 2 O 4 , Al 2 O 3 ) to provide background information for interpreting the catalyst spectra. The results indicate that the surface regions of the fresh (unreduced) catalysts are composed primarily of amorphous NiAl 2 O 4 with some NiO particles present either within the pores of the support or covered by a NiAl 2 O 4 layer. In comparison with similarly prepared silica‐supported catalysts, reducibility is more difficult indicating the presence of stronger support interactions.