Ni/Al2O3 and Ni/Al2O3–ZrO2 nanocatalysts synthesized via impregnation and treated with non-thermal
plasma were investigated in dry reforming of methane. The results showed that plasma treatment
produces highly dispersed nanoparticles with a high surface area. Strong interaction between active
phase and support particles in plasma-treated catalysts can be concluded based on XRD and XPS results.
Smaller Ni particles with narrow particle size distribution were observed in plasma-treated Ni/Al2O3–
ZrO2 nanocatalyst. The catalytic activity of plasma-treated Ni/Al2O3–ZrO2 was higher than that of
conventional catalyst, resulting in operating conditions with considerably lower temperatures. Long
reaction times confirmed the stability of the plasma-treated Ni/Al2O3–ZrO2 nanocatalyst.