New catalyst enables lower-temperature methane conversion with sustained performance

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Add to Preferred Sources High-Entropy Lanthanoid Oxide Catalyst Enables Low-Temperature Oxidative Coupling of Methane. Credit: Institute of Science Tokyo Oxidative coupling of methane (OCM) is a chemical reaction that directly converts methane and oxygen, the main components of natural gas, into higher-value hydrocarbons such as ethane and ethylene. However, the reaction presents a fundamental selectivity challenge.

The C–H bonds in methane are highly stable and difficult to activate at low temperatures. Furthermore, as ethane and ethylene are more reactive than methane, they readily overoxidize to carbon oxides (CO x ). Conventional catalysts used for OCM require operating temperatures near 800°C (1,472°F) and can undergo substantial deactivation during prolonged operation, hindering widespread industrial adoption.