Catalytic methane combustion over iron/nitrogen-doped silicon carbide

Abstract

We synthesized iron (Fe) and nitrogen (N)-modified silicon carbide (Fe/N–SiC) as a novel methane (CH₄) combustion catalyst by annealing Fe-deposited SiC under an ammonia atmosphere at 900 °C for 3 h. The rate of CH₄ combustion over Fe/N–SiC was 3 times higher than that over Fe–SiC (without N atoms) at 500 °C. Extended X-ray absorption fine structure and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analyses of Fe/N–SiC revealed that Fe was atomically distributed and coordinated to N atoms. N-Ligated Fe centers in the catalyst might facilitate the activation of molecular oxygen, and the generated active oxygen species likely react with CH₄, resulting in the enhancement of CH₄ combustion activity over Fe/N–SiC.