Methane to methanol by biomimetic catalysts

Direct oxidation of methane to methanol is a “holy grail” of modern chemistry. Done nowadays with low efficiency and at harsh conditions, it potentially would allow production of a highly important chemical directly from biogas. In the joint project MEMBMCAT of Åbo Akademi University and Tampere University, novel, atomically dispersed, biomimetic catalysts containing copper and iron phthalocyanine complexes encapsulated into zeolites and mesoporous materials and exhibiting an optimized geometry and support cavity size will be synthesized and characterized. Methane oxidation will be performed in the aqueous phase under mild conditions, which is expected to solvate hydrophilic methanol, while hydrophobic support cavities will facilitate easy diffusion of methanol to the bulk phase. If successful, methane oxidation in the liquid phase will promote energy efficient methanol synthesis from renewable resources and the use of inexpensive, environmentally benign heterogeneous catalysts.