Operando XAS and XRD studies on the stability of Ni-Pt alloys during daily start-up and shut-down operation of small scale CH4 reformers

In this study we focus at understanding the impact of conventional versus advanced preparation methods on the structural changes occurring in bimetallic Ni-Pt catalysts during steam reforming of methane. For this purpose, we would like to perform systematic operando XAS and XRD experiments during different reaction conditions simulating daily start-up and shut-down (DSS) operation (variation in temperature and gas atmosphere). We plan to monitor the structural evolution of the active species by XAS measurements at the Ni K and Pt L3 edges, while the overall phase changes due to de-alloying and re-incorporation in the support material will be tracked by X-ray diffraction measurements at selected stages of the experiments. After focusing on the support role in our previous proposal (CH-6791, to be performed in October 2023), we now aim to elucidate the effect of the Ni-Pt alloying degree on catalyst activity and stability.