Methane is an abundant and efficient fuel source. However, liquid compounds are easier and less expensive to transport safely. The conversion of CH4 to liquid organics such as methanol and formaldehyde is currently performed through an indirect process involving the water-gas shift reaction to form syngas, CO and H2, and then a Fisher-Tropsch process to form liquid hydrocarbons. A direct process would be preferred, and identifying an effective catalyst is highly desirable. An effusive molecular beam has been designed and constructed. This heated doser will allow the methane gas temperature to be varied from 300 to 900 K during dissociative chemisorption experiments. Additionally, a microcanonical unimolecular rate theory (MURT) has been used to predict sticking coefficients for CH4 on V(100) and V(110). These calculations have been informed by previous studies of CH4 on other transition metal surfaces (e.g., Pt(111) and Ni(100)). MURT predictions suggest optimal conditions for planned methane dissociative sticking experiments, which will be performed in the Abbott-Lyon laboratory beginning in summer 2016. Together, the MURT calculations and sticking experiments will increase our understanding of methane's behavior on early transition metal surfaces.

Designing and building an effusive molecular beam doser for methane sticking on vanadium

251st National Meeting (2016)

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