Silica‐Enveloped 2D‐Sheet‐to‐Nanocrystals Conversion for Resilient Catalytic Dry Reforming of Methane
Sun Woo Jang, Soumen Dutta, Amit Kumar, Soo Min Kim, Young‐Woo You, In Su Lee
Abstract
Abstract Here, lamellar confinement strategy is introduced for “sheet‐to‐nanocrystals (NCs)” conversion within a 2D‐SiO 2 envelope, which constructs a catalytic nanocartridge holding a platoon of isolated and in‐plane‐aligned ultrasmall Ni‐NCs, performing as a robust and coking‐resistant catalytic system for dry reforming of methane. Overcoming the problem of unavoidable bulk crystal growth from multiple sheets‐stack or sheet‐on‐open‐support, silica bilayer‐encasing tightly clamps the atomic‐thin Ni(OH) 2 ‐nanosheet during thermal conversion and further hinders the migratory fusion of the resultant Ni‐NCs. Upon heating‐cooling cycle, the flapping silica envelope clutches the Ni‐NCs like “eggs in a carton,” subsequently, ensuring their thermal stability. Owing to the unique 2D‐enveloped rigid architecture, Ni‐NCs can circumvent sintering and coke deposition while tolerating the high temperatures (>700 °C) for long operation (>100 h), affording high conversions to syngas.