The transformation of methane into methanol or higher alcohols at moderate temperature and pressure conditions is of great environmental interest and remains a challenge despite many efforts. Recent studies have shown that several metal-oxide and oxide-oxide interfaces are active for a direct CH4 to CH3OH conversion. The selectivity towards methanol production is usually enhanced when water is added to mixtures of methane and O2. The results of ambient pressure X-ray photoemission spectroscopy and density functional theory calculations have shown that water preferentially dissociates on active sites of the metal-oxide and oxide-oxide interfaces. The adsorbed OH blocks O-O bond cleavage that would dehydrogenate CH3O to CO and CO2, and it directly converts the CH3 species to methanol. Water adsorption also helps to displace the produced methanol into the gas phase. The combination of these three phenomena helps to improve the selectivity for a direct CH4 to CH3OH conversion.

Direct conversion of methane to methanol on metal-oxide and oxide-oxide interfaces: Fundamental studies on the role of water in the reaction process

ACS Fall 2021

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