Coupling non-thermal plasma with Ni catalysts supported on BETA zeolite for catalytic CO₂ methanation

Catalytic carbon dioxide (CO₂) methanation is a promising and effective process for CO₂ utilisation and the production of CH₄ as an alternative to using natural gas. Non-thermal plasma (NTP) activation has been proven to be highly effective in overcoming the thermodynamic limitation of reactions under mild conditions and intensifying the CO₂ hydrogenation process greatly. Herein, we present an example of NTP-assisted catalytic CO₂ methanation over Ni catalysts (15 wt%) supported on BETA zeolite employing lanthana (La) as the promoter. It was found that a NTP-assisted system presents remarkable catalytic performance in catalytic CO₂ methanation without an external heat source. Significantly, the use of Na-form BETA zeolite and the addition of La (i.e. 15Ni-20La/Na-BETA catalyst) resulted in an improvement in CO₂ conversions, surpassing the 15Ni/H-BETA catalyst, i.e. a seven-fold increase in the turnover frequency, TOF (1.45 s^-1vs. 0.21 s^-1), and selectivity towards CH₄ (up to ca. 97%). In addition, the developed catalyst also exhibited excellent stability under NTP conditions, i.e. a stable performance over a 15 h longevity test (with a TOF of 1.44 ± 0.01 s^-1). Comparative in situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS) characterisation of the developed catalysts revealed that the introduction of La₂O₃ to the Ni catalyst provides more surface hydroxyl groups, and hence enhances CO₂ methanation. Additionally, by analysing the surface species over 15Ni-20La/Na-BETA comparatively under thermal and NTP conditions (by in situ DRIFTS analysis), it is proposed that both the Langmuir-Hinshelwood and Eley-Rideal mechanisms co-exist in the NTP system due to the presence of dissociated H species in the gas phase. Conversely, for the thermal system, the reaction has to go through reactions between the surface-dissociated H and carbonate-like adsorbed CO₂via the Langmuir-Hinshelwood mechanism. The current mechanistic understanding of the NTP-activated system paves the way for the exploration of the reaction mechanisms/pathways of NTP-assisted catalytic CO₂ methanation.