Issue 18, 2023

Co-activation of methane and nitrogen to acetonitrile over MoCx/Al2O3 catalysts

Abstract

Methane and nitrogen are regarded as the most abundant sources of hydrocarbons and nitrogen, respectively. Both compounds exhibit high stability due to the presence of daunting C–H and N[triple bond, length as m-dash]N bond energies of 439 and 945 kJ mol−1, respectively, leading to their abundance. This study investigates the co-activation of methane and nitrogen using Al2O3-supported MoCx catalysts (1, 5, and 10 wt%) to produce acetonitrile (ACN) at ambient pressure. It was found that the optimum methane conversion (26.1%) and turnover frequency (TOF) of ACN (15.3 h−1) were achieved at 750 °C using 1 wt% Mo loading. To alleviate catalyst deactivation resulting from coking, H2 co-feeding was implemented and found to effectively sustain the on-stream activity for 50 hours. A plausible mechanism for ACN production, which occurs on the MoC-like surface, was proposed.

Graphical abstract: Co-activation of methane and nitrogen to acetonitrile over MoCx/Al2O3 catalysts

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
28 Apr 2023
Accepted
04 Aug 2023
First published
04 Aug 2023

Catal. Sci. Technol., 2023,13, 5248-5258

Co-activation of methane and nitrogen to acetonitrile over MoCx/Al2O3 catalysts

K. Trangwachirachai, I. Kao, W. Huang, C. Chen and Y. Lin, Catal. Sci. Technol., 2023, 13, 5248 DOI: 10.1039/D3CY00585B

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