Syngas production modified by oxygen vacancies over CeO2-ZrO2-CuO oxygen carrier via chemical looping reforming of methane

Chemical-looping reforming of methane (CLRM) offers an effective approach for the production of syngas . A series of Ce x Zr y Cu 1−x−y (x = 0.6, 0.7, y = 0–0.35) mixed oxides were successfully prepared by sol-gel method, and characterized by means of XRD , H 2 -TPR, BET, XPS , Raman and CH 4 -TPR. The addition of Cu and Zr ions caused the distortion of CeO 2 lattice and induced more oxygen vacancies , which promoted the mobility of lattice oxygen in the materials. Ce x Zr y Cu 1−x−y mixed oxides also owned smaller grain size and better thermal stability than pure CeO 2 -CuO mixed oxides. Among the series of Ce x Zr y Cu 1−x−y mixed oxides, the reducibility of Ce 0.6 Zr x Cu 0.4−x and Ce 0.7 Zr x Cu 0.3−x samples gradually increased with the Cu content. It was found that the Ce 0.7 Zr 0.2 Cu 0.1 sample owned the most abundant oxygen vacancies on the surface. The Ce x Zr y Cu 1−x−y mixed oxides with lower Cu content (≤0.1) produced higher amount of H 2 and CO while smaller CO 2 . Ce 0.7 Zr 0.2 Cu 0.1 sample still retained better structural stability and thermal stability after 20 times cycled reaction.