The formation and reactivity of carbon on the supported nickel catalyst is a key issue for the low temperature activity and stability with methanation, reforming and other reactions. In this work, Ni(1 1 1)/TiO2 was prepared and applied as the catalyst to deposit carbon using low temperature chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of carbon monoxide. It was found that the CVD temperature could significantly affect the formation of carbon. With the CVD temperature decreasing, the disorder of the carbon increased, while the degree of graphitization was reduced. As a result, graphene-like films can be obtained at low CVD temperatures (from 300 to 350 degrees C). Such carbon films show a significantly improved reactivity with hydrogen and carbon dioxide. This explains the excellent low temperature activity and stability for CO2 or CO methanation over Ni catalysts with Ni(1 1 1). (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.