C-H activation in strongly acidic media. The co-catalytic effect of the reaction medium

Quantum mechanical (QM) results are used to establish the role of sulfuric acid solvent in facilitating the reaction between Pt-II(bpym)Cl-2 (bpym = 2,2'-bipyrimidinyl) and methane; coordination of methane to the platinum catalyst is found to be catalyzed by the acidic medium.