Selective methanation of CO in H 2 -rich gas stream by synthetic nickel-containing smectite based catalysts

•Synthetic Ni-containing smectite is active for selective CO methanation.•Doping of Pt can improve the activity of nickel-containing smectite catalyst.•Number of exposed Ni species is improved by the presence of Pt dopant.•Pt dopant can facilitate the reduction of Ni species in the lattice.