Au-ZSM-5 catalyses the selective oxidation of CH4 to CH3OH and CH3COOH using O2

The oxidation of methane, the main component of natural gas, to selectively form oxygenated chemical feedstocks using molecular oxygen has been a long-standing grand challenge in catalysis. Here, using gold nanoparticles supported on the zeolite ZSM-5, we introduce a method to oxidize methane to methanol and acetic acid in water at temperatures between 120 and 240 degrees C using molecular oxygen in the absence of any added coreductant. Electron microscopy reveals that the catalyst does not contain gold atoms or clusters, but rather gold nanoparticles are the active component, while a mechanism involving surface adsorbed species is proposed in which methanol and acetic acid are formed via parallel pathways.

Automated summary

Using gold nanoparticles supported on zeolite, methane can be selectively oxidized to methanol and acetic acid in water without the addition of any coreductant. The active component of the catalyst is the gold nanoparticles, and the formation of methanol and acetic acid is proposed to occur via parallel pathways involving surface adsorbed species.