A novel synthesis route of Fe–Ni/ɣ-Al2O3 egg-shell catalyst is described.
Glycerol viscosity is a key property to prevent FeNi active phase migration toward the inner-core of ɣ-Al2O3.
X-ray micro tomography was used to inspect the FeNi distribution throughout the entire volume of the egg-shell catalyst.
Fe–Ni alloy nanoparticles with a size of approximately 5 nm were measured in the outer-shell using TEM and STEM.
The egg-shell activity for ammonia decomposition was superior to both uniform profile and egg-white catalyst.