Institute for Chemical and Bioengineering, ETH Zurich, Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 1, 8093, Zurich, Switzerland.
Laboratory for Catalysis and Sustainable Chemistry, Paul Scherrer Institute, 5232, Villigen, Switzerland.
Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2017 Dec 22;56(52):16464-16483. doi: 10.1002/anie.201702550. Epub 2017 Nov 22.
Despite the large number of disparate approaches for the direct selective partial oxidation of methane, none of them has translated into an industrial process. The oxidation of methane to methanol is a difficult, but intriguing and rewarding, task as it has the potential to eliminate the prevalent natural gas flaring by providing novel routes to its valorization. This Review considers the synthesis of methanol and methanol derivatives from methane by homogeneous and heterogeneous pathways. By establishing the severe limitations related to the direct catalytic synthesis of methanol from methane, we highlight the vastly superior performance of systems which produce methanol derivatives or incorporate specific measures, such as the use of multicomponent catalysts to stabilize methanol. We thereby identify methanol protection as being indispensable for future research on homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis.
尽管有许多不同的方法可用于直接选择性部分氧化甲烷，但没有一种方法转化为工业过程。将甲烷氧化为甲醇是一项具有挑战性但有趣且有益的任务，因为它有可能通过提供新的途径来利用天然气来消除普遍存在的天然气燃烧。本综述考虑了通过均相和多相途径从甲烷合成甲醇和甲醇衍生物。通过确定与甲烷直接催化合成甲醇相关的严重限制，我们突出了那些生产甲醇衍生物或采用特定措施的系统的卓越性能，例如使用多组分催化剂来稳定甲醇。因此，我们确定甲醇保护对于均相和多相催化的未来研究是不可或缺的。
