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Updated: Sep 22, 2025
Supercritical Nitrogen Processing for the Purification of Reactive Porous Materials
Published on: May 15, 2015
Partial oxidation of methane to methanol on boron nitride at near critical acetonitrile
Tharindu Kankanam Kapuge1, Ehsan Moharreri2, Inosh Perera1
1Department of Chemistry, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, 06269, USA.
Abstract:
Direct catalytic conversion of methane to methanol with O2 has been a fundamental challenge in unlocking abundant natural gas supplies. Metal-free methane conversion with 17% methanol yield based on the limiting reagent O2 at 275 °C was achieved with near supercritical acetonitrile in the presence of boron nitride. Reaction temperature, catalyst loading, dwell time, methane-oxygen molar ratio, and solvent-oxygen molar ratios were identified as critical factors controlling methane activation and the methanol yield. Extension of the study to ethane (C2) showed moderate yields of methanol (3.6%) and ethanol (4.5%).
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