Low-Temperature Conversion of Methane to Methanol on CeOx/Cu2O Catalysts: Water Controlled Activation of the C-H Bond

An inverse CeO2/Cu2O/Cu(111) catalyst is able to activate methane at room temperature producing C, CHx fragments and COx species on the oxide surface. The addition of water to the system leads to a drastic change in the selectivity of methane activation yielding only adsorbed CHx fragments. At a temperature of 450 K, in the presence of water, a CH4 -> CH3OH catalytic transformation occurs with a high selectivity. OH groups formed by the dissociation of water saturate the catalyst surface, removing sites that could decompose CHx fragments, and generating centers on which methane can directly interact to yield methanol.