Institut für Chemie, Technische Universität Berlin, Strasse des 17. Juni 135, 10623, Berlin, Germany.
Institute of Theoretical Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun, 130023, P.R. China.
Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2016 Aug 26;55(36):10877-80. doi: 10.1002/anie.201605259. Epub 2016 Jul 8.
The thermal reaction of AuO with methane has been explored using FT-ICR mass spectrometry complemented by high-level quantum chemical calculations. In contrast to the previously studied congener CuO , and to AgO , AuO reacts with CH4 exclusively via oxygen-atom transfer to form CH3 OH, and a novel mechanistic scenario for this selective oxidation process has been revealed. Also, the origin of the inertness of the AgO /CH4 couple has been addressed computationally.
