Highly Stable Supported Cu-Ni Dilute Alloy Catalyst for Efficient CO₂ Reforming of Methane

CO₂ reforming of methane, also known as dry reforming of methane, offers promising prospects for the catalytic conversion of CO₂ and CH₄ to produce H₂, but low-cost catalysts with high activity and stability in operation under severe conditions are needed. We now report such a catalyst, consisting of copper-nickel nanoparticles on a support. The catalyst operated with high activity for more than 1200 h of continuous operation in a flow reactor with a feed of CH₄:CO₂:N₂ in a molar ratio of 1:1:1. In-situ X-ray absorption spectra show that the catalyst consisted of a dilute alloy of copper in nickel during operation, being resistant to metal sintering and the formation of carbonaceous deposits even at 700 °C. The data are consistent with the suggestion that the catalyst was a single-atom alloy and point to the possibility of a range of applications of such catalysts.