Fabrication and catalytic evaluation of Ti incorporated Co-phyllosilicate catalyst for hydrogen production over glycerol steam reforming

The regulation of Co-TiO_2-x interaction was investigated to reveal the performance enhancement of xTi@Co/SEP catalysts during glycerol steam reforming. Comprehensive investigations manifested that well-dispersed anatase closely contacted with the Co⁰ nanoparticles exsolved from the phyllosilicate precursor by adjusting Ti incorporation content and heat treatment temperature. The formed TiO_2-x-O_v-Co⁰ interface could effectively decrease catalyst acidity, control metal particle size, and optimize carbonyl adsorption, resulting in an evident activity and stability enhancement on the catalyst. Moreover, the TiO_2-x suboxide brought about abundant oxygen vacancies around Co⁰ nanoparticles for coke gasification. Experiment results confirmed that 0.24Ti@Co/SEP-700 catalyst possessed an optimal activity with a maximum conversion(97.2 %) and H₂ yield(81.6 %) at 700 °C and a better stability at 600 °C. Because of the dispersion effect of residual Co-phyllosilicate, the homogeneous anatase phase was free of phase transformation and thermal aggregation, thus stabilizing interface sites during the reforming process. It's contributed to an attenuated metal sintering and slight coke deposition. Therefore, the metal-oxide interaction regulation via a TiO_2-x-O_v-Co⁰ interface were illustrate as a new strategy for robust catalyst design.