Photocatalytic CH₄-to-Ethanol Conversion on Asymmetric Multishelled Interfaces

Area of Science:

• Catalysis
• Materials Science
• Green Chemistry

Background:

• Selective methane oxidation to value-added chemicals like ethanol is crucial for climate change mitigation and chemical synthesis.
• Challenges in selective ethanol formation stem from the instability of reactive intermediates during methane oxidation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an efficient photocatalyst for selective methane (CH4) oxidation to ethanol.
• To investigate the role of asymmetric interfaces in a hollow multishelled nanosphere catalyst for enhanced product selectivity.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a hollow multishelled CeO2@PdO@FeO nanosphere catalyst.
• Utilizing in-tandem photo-oxidation with O2 as the oxidant.
• Characterization of catalytic interfaces and intermediate transport within the nanostructure.

Main Results:

• The CeO2@PdO@FeO nanosphere catalyst demonstrated efficient photoactivation of CH4 to intermediates and subsequent coupling to ethanol.
• Achieved a peak CH4-to-ethanol yield of 728 μmol·g−1·h−1 under ambient conditions without photosensitizers.
• The yield is nearly three times higher than previous reports for photocatalytic CH4 oxidation to ethanol.

Conclusions:

• The developed hollow multishelled catalyst with asymmetric interfaces enables highly selective and efficient photocatalytic conversion of methane to ethanol.
• This approach offers a promising strategy for sustainable chemical production and greenhouse gas utilization.