LAUSR

Abstract In this work, Ru/SrCO 3 -Al 2 O 3 catalysts with a low Ru loading exhibited superior catalytic activity for steam reforming of toluene as a model of aromatics in kerosene, compared to a commercial Ru/α-Al 2 O 3 catalyst. The addition of a small amount of Al 2 O 3 to the SrCO 3 supports, resulted in improved the catalytic activity for Ru/SrCO 3 . In addition, a Sr/(Sr + Al) molar ratio (SA ratio) of 0.90 generated the highest level of activity. Interestingly, the extent of Ru dispersion on the Ru/SrCO 3 -Al 2 O 3 catalysts with higher SA ratios, as estimated from H 2 chemisorption, was much lower than that on the Ru/γ-Al 2 O 3 . X-ray photo electron and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic analyses demonstrated that the Ru/SrCO 3 -Al 2 O 3 catalysts exhibited enhanced performance due to the presence of (Ru) n σ − particles and highly active hydroxyl groups over SrCO 3 .