Issue 16, 2023

Photoelectrochemical C–H activation of methane to methyl radical at room temperature

Abstract

Herein, we report a continuous gas-fed photoelectrochemical (PEC) system with a proton exchange membrane for CH4 activation at ambient temperature and pressure. We found that both water splitting and steam reforming of CH4 were induced over oxide photoanodes. When the CH4 concentration was low, O2 and CO2 were formed on titanium oxide (TiO2) and tungsten trioxide (WO3) photoanodes under ultraviolet light irradiation. We also found that visible light enhanced CH4 activation and ethane (C2H6) formation over the WO3 photoanode. When the CH4 concentration increased, O2 formation was suppressed, with increasing production rates of CO2, C2H6, and CO. Under optimised conditions, the selectivity of C2H6 reached 57% on a carbon basis over the WO3 photoanode under visible-light irradiation. The production of C2H6 implies the formation of methyl radicals during the CH4 gas-fed PEC process. We also demonstrated the PEC coupling of ethane to n-butane and the visible-light-induced oxidation of CH4 without external bias.

Graphical abstract: Photoelectrochemical C–H activation of methane to methyl radical at room temperature

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
07 May 2023
Accepted
07 Jun 2023
First published
13 Jun 2023

Catal. Sci. Technol., 2023,13, 4640-4645

Author version available

Photoelectrochemical C–H activation of methane to methyl radical at room temperature

F. Amano, A. Shintani, T. Sakakura, Y. Takatsuji and T. Haruyama, Catal. Sci. Technol., 2023, 13, 4640 DOI: 10.1039/D3CY00632H

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