Effect of oxide support on Ni–Pd bimetallic nanocatalysts for steam gasification of n-C 7 asphaltenes

In a previous study, we showed that Ni–Pd bimetallic nanocatalysts supported on fumed silica had better adsorption affinity and catalytic activity toward adsorption and post-adsorption decomposition of asphaltenes compared to the support without functionalization. In this study, the effect of oxide support types on the adsorption and subsequent steam gasification of adsorbed asphaltenes was studied over Ni–Pd bimetallic nanocatalysts supported on TiO 2 or γ-Al 2 O 3 nanoparticles. X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and N 2 physisorption at 77 K were used to characterize the crystal size and surface area of NiO and/or PdO-supported-on-TiO 2 or γ-Al 2 O 3 nanoparticles, respectively. The type of support was shown to affect the adsorption affinity and catalytic activity of the particles; Ni–Pd/TiO 2 nanoparticles showed higher adsorption capacity and catalytic activity than Ni–Pd/γ-Al 2 O 3 , presumably due to different metal-support interaction and geometric and electronic effects on the surface. Bimetallic nanoparticles appeared to have better adsorption and catalytic behavior than monometallic nanoparticles regardless of the oxide support used, confirming their synergistic effect.