“…Four peaks were identified (Table 1) for the former case: a small ill-defined peak at T, , = 528 K, which has been ascribed (45) to an endothemic phase transition from rhombohedra1 to cubic NiO which occurs simultaneously with reduction; a minor (573 K) and a major (610 K) peak, which can be attributed to the process H, + NiO + H20 + Ni where the minor peak (with a T, , , similar to that for bulk NiO) is associated with the reduction of very weakly interacting NiO and the higher temperature peak represents the reduction of NiO which interacts to a greater extent with the canier; and a broad peak with T, , = 693 K, which may be due to the more difficult reduction of a surface nickel silicate species. The reduction of the precalcined sample generated a small peak at T,, = 503 K, which is thought to be due to the reduction of traces of Ni(II1) oxide (43), and a broad peak at T, , , = 658 K with a shoulder, which can be considered to represent the reduction of both surface NiO and nickel silicate. As with the HPD catalysts, the introduction of the calcination step shifted the T, , of the principal peak to a higher value.…”