Enhancing diesel steam reforming activity by oxygen vacancy on La2Ce2O7 pyrochlore carrier

Hydrogen-rich syngas production via diesel steam reforming (DSR) is of great interest because of the high H2/CO ratio and the availability of external heat sources. In this study, Rh/La2Ce2O7 was prepared using an impregnation method. It exhibited significant surface lattice oxygen mobility, facilitating the transfer rate of the adsorbed active lattice oxygen species from the support to the metal Rh. H2-TPR and XPS analyses revealed that a moderate interaction between Rh and the La2Ce2O7 carrier led to the highest reducibility of RhOx species and the highest concentration of Rh species. EPR and Raman spectroscopy analyses indicated that the La2Ce2O7 carrier contained higher oxygen vacancies, promoting the adsorption of H2O which furnishing the reactive oxygen species, thereby reducing carbon deposition. The experimental results confirm the catalyst’s excellent performance in DSR, as demonstrated by its experimental conversion rate of 97.5 %.