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Sustainable methane oxidation has the potential to green the petrochemical industry. Researchers from the groups of Prof. Junwang Tang, and Dr. Yang Lan in the Department of Chemical Engineering at »Ê¼Ò»ªÈË, together with Prof. Tianyu Zhang in Beijing Forestry University show a cascade catalysis process involving photoconversion and then thermal decomposition at mild temperatures to form formaldehyde in Nature Sustainability.

Methane, the primary constituent of shale gas/methane hydrate, is abundant on Earth. The oxidation of methane to value-added chemicals provides an opportunity to use this abundant feedstock for sustainable petrochemistry. Unfortunately, such technologies remain not sufficiently competitive due to the poor selectivity and low yield rate for target products.

In this article published in Nature Sustainability, the researchers show a photon-phonon driven cascade reaction that allows for methane conversion to formaldehyde with an unprecedented productivity and a high selectivity. Specifically, methane first reacts with water to selectively produce the intermediate of methyl hydroperoxide via photocatalysis, followed by a thermodecomposition step yielding formaldehyde.

Mr. Youxun Xu, first author and PhD student at »Ê¼Ò»ªÈË Chemical Engineering, commented: "This work realises highly efficient and selective oxidation of methane to HCHO under mild conditions via photon–phonon cascade catalysis, potentially reducing the carbon footprint related to HCHO production from methane. The present reaction route with minimised energy consumption and high efficiency suggests a promising pathway for the sustainable transformation of methane."

To learn more about this work, please read the article "" in Nature Sustainability.

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Mr Youxun Xu

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