[Frontiers in Haichuan Technology] USTC develops a new catalyst that enables efficient light-driven conversion of methane to formic acid

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New catalyst enables efficient photo-driven conversion of methane to formic acid 2025-01-22 Source: China Science News Professors Xiong Yujie and Liu Dong from the University of Science and Technology of China’s research team have achieved efficient photo-driven conversion of methane to formic acid, offering new insights for the design of catalysts for methane conversion as well as for understanding the reaction mechanisms involved. The relevant research findings were recently published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. Light-driven direct conversion of methane into formic acid is a promising method for converting methane into high-value chemicals and promoting sustainable development. However, this process remains challenging due to the complex intermediates involved in the conversion of methane to formic acid. The researchers designed a tungsten trioxide-based photocatalyst modified with platinum active sites. This catalyst facilitates oxygen activation through a proton-coupled electron transfer process, generating more reactive oxygen species, thereby enabling the efficient conversion of methane to formic acid. By comparing platinum single atoms and pure tungsten trioxide, they found that platinum-loaded nanoparticles exhibited a higher methane conversion rate and greater selectivity for formic acid production. Platinum nanoparticles can promote oxygen adsorption and activation, thereby facilitating oxygen dissociation by promoting the separation of photogenerated carriers. By increasing the proton concentration in the solution, a sufficient number of protons can be provided, thereby lowering the barrier to the formation of hydroxyl radicals; ultimately, this promotes the formation of hydroxyl radicals through a proton-coupled electron transfer process. In this reaction system, the platinum-tungsten trioxide-based photocatalyst designed by the researchers exhibits excellent stability; it can achieve a formic acid yield of 17.7 millimoles per gram, with a selectivity for formic acid of 84%.