Highly active and stable Sr0.92Y0.08Ti1−xRuxO3−d in dry reforming for hydrogen production

Biofuels such as sewage gas and landfill gas, which can be used as fuels in solid oxide fuel cells, have suitable composition of CH4 and CO2 for dry reforming. We developed an Sr0.92Y0.08Ti1−xRuxO3−d material as an anode for solid oxide fuel cells that use biofuels as a direct fuel and show an excellent performance in dry reforming. The Pechini method was used to synthesize the material using ruthenium substitution in the titanium site of an Sr0.92Y0.08TiO3−d (SYT) material. X-ray diffraction analysis confirmed that the perovskite phase of the synthesized catalyst was maintained. Ruthenium-loaded catalysts were prepared by coprecipitating ruthenium onto SYT to compare with the Sr0.92Y0.08Ti1−xRuxO3−d. The differences between Sr0.92Y0.08Ti1−xRuxO3−d and ruthenium-loaded SYT materials during methane dry reforming and the thermal stability during long-term operation were evaluated. In particular, SYTRu10 exhibited higher methane conversion and carbon dioxide conversion than Ru10-loaded SYT at the temperature range of 600–900 °C and stable performance even in long-term operation. X-ray fluorescence and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller measurements were performed to measure the composition of the catalysts and the specific surface area, pore size, and pore volume of the catalysts. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and temperature-programmed reduction were used to investigate the state and behavior of ruthenium. Furthermore, transmission electron microscopy was performed to analyze the shape of the catalyst before and after the reaction.