La2O3 catalysts with diverse spatial dimensionality for oxidative coupling of methane to produce ethylene and ethane

Abstract

We investigated the catalytic behaviour of La₂O₃ catalysts with different spatial dimensionality, such as zero-, one-, two- and three-dimensional structure, for the oxidative coupling of methane. The La₂O₃ catalyst with two-dimensional structure exhibited the highest conversion of methane with the most ethylene and ethane produced among these catalysts. The collective contribution from the exposed specific facets, more electron deficient oxygen species and more moderate surface basic sites on the two-dimensional La₂O₃ catalyst account for its highly efficient catalysis in the oxidative coupling of methane to produce ethylene and ethane.