Sol–gel synthesis of titanium oxide supported nickel catalysts for hydrogen and carbon production by methane decomposition

TiO 2 -supported NiO hybrids have been synthesized by the sol–gel method and further processed into catalysts for hydrogen production by methane decomposition. The structures of the metal oxides and catalysts are characterized using field emission electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and N 2 adsorption-desorption test. The catalytic performance of the catalysts is evaluated in terms of hydrogen yield rate, methane conversion and carbon yield. It is found that the TiO 2 -supported catalysts show better catalytic performance when compared with the unsupported catalyst, which is attributed to the uniform dispersion of ultrafine nickel particles as well as the appropriate metal-support interaction. The catalyst performance is dependent on the ratio of NiO and TiO 2 . The 1NiO–2TiO 2 exhibits the highest carbon yield of 321.1 g C g −1 Ni at 500 °C. The structures of the produced carbons are characterized by transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. It is found that the resulting filamentous carbon materials exhibit uniform diameters and various morphologies including hollow tube, platelet, bow-like and herringbone structures.