Patent ID: 8173010

Claim:
A method comprising: contacting a reactant gas comprising a hydrocarbon in a coking environment with a catalytic material comprising an intermetallic compound that is present in the catalytic material in 0.5-40 volume % of the catalytic material, the intermetallic compound comprising a transition metal and a metal additive selected from among at least one of Sn, Ge, In, Tl, Ga, Pb, As, Sb and Bi, or any combination of one or more of these, wherein the additive is present in an amount less than 50 mol % of the intermetallic compound and the intermetallic compound is characterized by a crystalline structure different from crystalline structures of the transition metal and the metal additive, and wherein the contacting takes place at 600° C. or higher; and dry reforming the hydrocarbon gas in the coking environment to produce a desired product.