【Frontiers in HaiChuan Chemical Technology】Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics has developed a Ni1-CeO2 single-atom photocatalyst for the efficient conversion of methane into ethane at room temperature
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The Ni1-CeO2 single-atom photocatalyst developed by our institute enables the efficient conversion of methane into ethane at room temperature. Publication date: 2025-05-19. Recently, the research team led by Researcher Zhang Fuxiang from the Solar Hydrogen Production and Storage Materials and Catalysis Research Group (DNL1621) in our institute’s Solar Energy Research Department, in collaboration with Professor Tang Junwang’s team from Tsinghua University, designed and synthesized a Ni1-CeO2 single-atom photocatalyst that allows for the high-activity and high-selectivity production of ethane from methane at room temperature. They also found a clear positive correlation between the degree of methane coverage and the selectivity for C-C bond coupling to produce ethane. Methane is the main component of natural gas, and its conversion into high-value chemicals is of great significance; however, traditional dry/wet reforming and Fischer-Tropsch synthesis require high temperatures of over 700°C. Photocatalytic technology can activate inert molecules such as CH4 at room temperature, but it is difficult to achieve efficient C-H bond activation while suppressing excessive oxidation to CO2. Catalyst modification is a common strategy in photocatalytic methane conversion; it can facilitate charge transfer and suppress carrier recombination, as well as regulate active sites to promote chemisorption activation. Among them, precious metal catalysts such as Au and Pd have been reported to significantly improve ethane selectivity, but this effect is limited to certain UV-responsive photocatalytic materials. In this work, inspired by the fact that Lewis acidic carriers facilitate CH4 adsorption, researchers screened 3d single-atom metal catalysts using DFT calculations. They then prepared a visible-light responsive single-atom nickel-modified ceria catalyst (Ni1-CeO2), which enabled the efficient conversion of methane into ethane. Studies have found that the supported monatomic Ni promoter can effectively facilitate the separation of photo-generated charges. The acidity on the surface of the CeO2 photocatalyst facilitates the adsorption of CH4, and there is a positive correlation between the coverage of methane and the selectivity for C-C coupling to form ethane. Researchers designed and synthesized a highly efficient Ni1-CeO2 catalyst that achieved an ethane yield of 243 μmol·g-1·h-1 and a selectivity of around 90% during continuous tests at room temperature over 350 hours, outperforming previously reported non-precious metal photocatalyst systems.
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In this work, the Deng Dehui team built on previous research on C-H bond activation and the activation of methane at low temperatures (Nano Energy, 2021； Chem，2019 ； Chem，2018 ； Nat. Commun., 2018 ； Sci. Adv., 2015) utilized a reduction mechanism induced by precious metals to prepare two-dimensional Ru nanosheets with lattice-confined Cu atoms, which could catalyze the highly selective conversion of methane and hydrogen peroxide into C1 oxidized compounds at room temperature, with a maximum formation rate of 1533 mmol g-1Cu(surf.) h-1 and a selectivity exceeding 99%. By combining spectroscopic characterization with density functional theory calculations, the team found that Cu atoms confined at the edges of Ru nanosheets can activate hydrogen peroxide to generate reactive oxygen species, thereby breaking the C-H bonds in methane molecules at a lower activation energy. Through a radical mechanism, methane is catalytically converted into oxidized compounds such as methyl hydroperoxide and methanol at room temperature. This work expands the scope of lattice-confined coordinatively unsaturated active centers for the catalytic low-temperature conversion of methane, providing a reference for designing new types of efficient catalysts for such conversion. The related research results, titled “Boosting Room-temperature Conversion of Methane via Confining Cu Atoms in Ultrathin Ru Nanosheets”, were recently published in Chem Catalysis and selected as a Front Cover article. The first authors of this work are Dr. Fan Jinchang and Dr. Liang Suxia, postdoctoral researchers in Group 509 at the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics. This work was supported by projects such as the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Key Research Project on Frontier Sciences of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Class B Pilot Project of the Chinese Academy of Sciences titled “Principles and Measurements for the Precise Construction of Functional Nanosystems”, and the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation.
【Ten Years of Rapid Development in Chemical Equipment】2389-2023: Domestic production of thrust bearings for steam turbines in ethylene cracking gas compression units at Zhenhai Refining & Chemical Co. https://bbs.hcbbs.com/thread-5693613-1-1.html (Source: Haichuan Chemical Industry Forum)