Oxidation of CH4 under lean condition ((8) over bar 00 ppm) and CO2 reformi
ng of CH4 were carried out using Rh/ZrO2 catalysts with different metal dis
persions. It was found that both reactions showed a similar structure-sensi
tive behavior: The TOF decreased with increasing of Rh dispersion. It is su
ggested that the rate determining step is dissociative adsorption of CH4 or
both reactions, and strong Rh-O bonds in smaller Rh crystallites may lead
to a suppression of the dissociative adsorption of CH4 on the Rh surface.