(638f) Dry Reforming of Methane over a Ni-Mo Nanocatalyst

Large scale carbon fixation requires high volume chemicals production from CO₂. Dry reforming of methane could provide an economically feasible route if coke and sintering resistant catalysts were developed. We recently developed a molybdenum doped nickel nanocatalyst that is stabilized on MgO supports and show quantitative production of synthesis gas from dry reforming of methane. The catalyst runs over 900 hours of continuous operation with no detectable coking. Synchrotron studies also show no sintering and reveal that 2.9 nm as synthesized particles move to combine into stable 17 nm grains above the Tammann temperature. Our findings enable an industrially and economically viable path for carbon reclamation.