Synergistic Bimetallic Ru–Au on SrTiO ₃ Nanosheets Boosts Photothermal Dry Reforming of Methane via Enhanced Nonpolar Molecule Activation

Photothermal catalytic dry reforming of methane (DRM) offers a sustainable approach for carbon conversion, while the syngas production rate remains unsatisfactory under low-temperature photothermal conditions. This study reported an efficient ruthenium and gold comodified strontium titanate nanosheet (Ru–Au/SrTiO3) catalyst prepared via one-step photodeposition. The bimetallic Ru–Au/SrTiO3was further photothermally in situ reconstructed in a reaction atmosphere to form more Ru0, which exhibited excellent photothermal DRM performance, with H2 and CO production rates of 619.3 and 700.5 mmol·gcat–1·h–1 under 4.5 W·m–2 light irradiation, respectively, and 15.2% light-to-chemical energy efficiency (LTCEE). The localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) effect of Au nanoparticles enhances light-harvesting, charge separation, and oxygen migration. Benefiting from the synergy of Ru–Au and oxygen vacancy, CH4 and CO2 were activated over Ru–Au/SrTiO3, thereby forming CHx* and O* species. This synergy further facilitated the coupling of these intermediates to CH3O* species, ultimately boosting syngas production. Overall, this strategy effectively enhances CH4 and CO2 activation/dissociation, thereby significantly improving syngas production under photothermal DRM conditions.