“…7,[20][21][22] The structure and morphology of the pre-catalyst may influence the carburization pathways, the structure of the activated catalyst, its stability under DRM conditions and, thus, its performance. 7,11,[16][17][18] The further rational development of Mo 2 C-based catalysts requires an understanding of their activation and deactivation routes, i.e., understanding of the structural evolution under pre-treatment and operating conditions. 11 In this work, using Mo K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) we compare the carburization pathways of unsupported α-MoO 3 nanobelts (α-MoO 3 -nb) to that of silica-supported delaminated nanosheets of MoO 3 to yield, respectively, -Mo 2 C-nb and Mo 2 C/SiO 2 .…”