Green hydrogen, a versatile and sustainable energy carrier, has garnered increasing attention as a critical element in the global transition to a low-carbon economy.

CO₂ methanation presents an intriguing avenue for utilizing carbon dioxide and generating methane as synthetic natural gas. Both reducibility and basicity of catalysts play a major role in catalytic performances improvement.

The catalyst MNi_0.9Zr_0.1O₃ (M = La, Ce, and Cs) was prepared using the sol–gel preparation technique investigated for the dry reforming of methane reaction to examine activity, stability, and H₂/CO ratio. The lanthanum in the catalyst LaNi_0.9Zr_0.1O₃ was partially substituted for cerium and zirconium for yttrium to give La_0.6Ce_0.4Ni_0.9Zr_0.1−xY_xO₃ (x = 0.05, 0.07, and 0.09). The La_0.6Ce_0.4Ni_0.9Zr_0.1−xY_xO₃ catalyst’s activity increases with an increase in yttrium loading. The activities of the yttrium-modified catalysts La_0.6Ce_0.4Ni_0.9Zr_0.03Y_0.07O₃ and La_0.6Ce_0.4Ni_0.9Zr_0.01Y_0.09O₃ are higher than the unmodified La_0.6Ce_0.4Ni_0.9Zr_0.1O₃ catalyst, the latter having methane and carbon dioxide conversion values of 84% and 87%, respectively, and the former with methane and carbon dioxide conversion values of 86% and 90% for La_0.6Ce_0.4Ni_0.9Zr_0.03Y_0.07O₃ and 89% and 91% for La_0.6Ce_0.4Ni_0.9Zr_0.01Y_0.09O₃, respectively. The BET analysis depicted a low surface area of samples ranging from 2 to 9 m²/g. The XRD peaks confirmed the formation of a monoclinic phase of zirconium. The TPR showed that apparent reduction peaks occurred in moderate temperature regions. The TGA curve showed weight loss steps in the range 773 K–973 K, with CsNi_0.9Zr_0.1O₃ carbon deposition being the most severe. The coke deposit on La_0.6Ce_0.4Ni_0.9Zr_0.1O₃ after 7 h time on stream (TOS) was the lowest, with 20% weight loss. The amount of weight loss increases with a decrease in zirconium loading.