An active and coke-resistant dry reforming catalyst comprising nickel–tungsten alloy nanoparticles

•Ni17W3/SiO2 performed better than Ni/SiO2 for the dry reforming reaction.•Ni is stabilized in form of Ni17W3.•α-WC formed during the DRM reaction facilitates the CO2 dissociation.

Nickel catalysts catalyzing the DRM reaction have the problems of sintering and coking. Herein we proposed an idea of stabilizing nickel by Ni17W3 alloy, and α-WC formed during the DRM reaction participated in the CO2 activation, leading to a better coke resistance of Ni17W3/SiO2 catalyst. Due to better Ni dispersion and less coke deposition, Ni17W3/SiO2 catalyst exhibits an improved catalytic stability for the DRM reaction compared with the model Ni/SiO2 catalyst.