Highly active dry methane reforming catalysts with boosted in situ grown Ni-Fe nanoparticles on perovskite via atomic layer deposition.

With the need for more stable and active metal catalysts for dry reforming of methane, in situ grown nanoparticles using exsolution are a promising approach. However, in conventional exsolution, most nanoparticles remain underneath the surface because of the sluggish diffusion rate of cations. Here, we report the atomic layer deposition (ALD)-combined topotactic exsolution on La0.6Sr0.2Ti0.85Ni0.15O3-δ toward developing active and durable catalysts. The uniform and quantitatively controlled layer of Fe via ALD facilitates the topotactic exsolution, increasing finely dispersed nanoparticles. The introduction of Fe2O3 yields the formation of Ni-Fe alloy owing to the spontaneous alloy formation energy of -0.43 eV, leading to an enhancement of the catalytic activity for dry methane reforming with a prolonged stability of 410 hours. Overall, the abundant alloy nanocatalysts via ALD mark an important step forward in the evolution of exsolution and its application to the field of energy utilization.