A comparative kinetic study on the reduction of unsupported nano NiO particles and silica-supported NiO

Abstract

This paper presents the results of our work conducted on studying the differences in the reduction of unsupported nano NiO particles and silica-supported NiO. The purpose of the study was to understand the effects of physical characteristics of NiO particles and their support on the reduction process. In this study, the kinetics of NiO reduction was investigated using an isothermal thermogravimetric method in the temperature range of 500 – 600 °C. From the study, we found that the silica support did not hold a significant effect on the NiO reduction. Instead, the change in the reduction behaviour was related to the size of NiO crystallites.