Characterization of a nickel-strontium phosphate catalyst for partial oxidation of methane

A nickel-strontium phosphate catalyst was recently reported to exhibit high activity and selectivity in partial oxidation of methane (POM). Further characterizations have been performed in the present work in order to better understand the characteristics of this catalyst. TEM showed that very fine nickel particles of a few nanometers of the size were present in the needle shape in the sample after the reaction. TPR showed the presence of three nickel species, confirming that the nickel in the strontium hydroxyapatite and phosphate structures comes out as fine particles and is reduced during the reaction. As the calcination time during the preparation increased, the total re-oxidation temperature became higher. This is considered due to larger crystallite size owing to the longer calcination, which results in a smaller amount of nickel coming out of the matrix to the surface.