Single-Atom Catalysis for the Dry Reforming of Methane: Recent Advances

High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide Carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and methane (CH 4 ) are two major environmental threats. Dry reforming of methane (DRM) is a particularly important and useful process to mitigate these two harmful gases. DRM converts these hazardous gases into syngas, which can be further utilized for valuable chemical production; however, the deactivation of conventional catalysts, mainly caused by coking and sintering, is an exhausting issue. Single-atom catalysts (SACs) tend to play an important role in this regard. The existence of active sites as single atoms on the surface of the support material makes SACs ideal for high metal dispersion, efficient metal utilization, and resistance toward deactivation phenomena like coking and sintering. This work specifically focuses on the utilization of SACs in DRM, with major attention toward the different synthesis techniques, characterization requirements, and the reaction mechanism for their excellent resistance to carbon deposition. The review provides a detailed discussion on the analysis and confirmation of single-atom active site formation and how the isolation of single atoms alters the pathway in favor of DRM reactions. The review also briefly provides the next frontier on how to leverage the full potential of SACs.