Scientists propose a new strategy for methane conversion directly into liquid fuel under mild conditions

The Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences announced on February 24 that the research team led by researcher Wang Wenzhong has made new progress in the study of methane photocatalytic conversion and proposed a new strategy for the direct conversion of methane to liquid fuels under mild conditions.

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? Direct photocatalytic conversion can break the constraints of traditional thermodynamic equilibrium, so that the conversion of methane can be carried out at low temperature and normal pressure
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Wang Wenzhong’s research team designed and prepared copper-modified carbon nitride materials to realize the photocatalytic direct conversion of methane to ethanol, and conducted a more in-depth study of the mechanism of the process
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? In view of the problem that methane is prone to over-activation and thorough mineralization, the research team started from the two perspectives of the generation of active oxygen species and the adsorption and activation of methane.
By modifying the ordered cavities of carbon nitride materials with copper, it not only realized The in-situ generation of hydroxyl radicals also promotes the activation of methane CH bonds and the stability of highly active intermediate species
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The material exhibits excellent photocatalytic methane conversion performance.
The copper species in the material and the adjacent carbon atoms have a synergistic effect, making the conversion process proceed along the methane-methanol-ethanol path
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As the main component of natural gas and shale gas, methane has the advantages of relatively abundant reserves and low price.
It is one of the cores of research and development in academia and industry in the field of replacing petroleum to produce liquid fuels and basic chemicals
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The selective activation and directional conversion of methane is a worldwide problem, and it is known as the "Holy Grail" in the field of catalysis and even chemistry
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So far, the conversion of methane usually adopts the indirect method, which converts methane into synthesis gas through steam reforming at high temperature, and then obtains multi-carbon basic chemicals through Fischer-Tropsch synthesis; or prepares methanol from synthesis gas and then produces other chemicals
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This conversion route has high energy consumption and emits a large amount of greenhouse gas carbon dioxide during the process, which not only brings environmental load, but also makes the total carbon utilization rate less than half
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Therefore, scientists have been working hard to explore methods for direct conversion and utilization of methane
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