High-efficiency direct methane conversion to oxygenates on a cerium dioxide nanowires supported rhodium single-atom catalyst

Shuxing Bai, Fangfang Liu, Bolong Huang, Fan Li, Haiping Lin, Tong Wu, Mingzi Sun, Jianbo Wu, Qi Shao, Yong Xu, Xiaoqing Huang*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Journal Publications and ReviewsRGC 21 - Publication in refereed journalpeer-review

223 Citations (Scopus)
3 Downloads (CityUHK Scholars)

Abstract

Direct methane conversion (DMC) to high value-added products is of significant importance for the effective utilization of CH4 to combat the energy crisis. However, there are ongoing challenges in DMC associated with the selective C−H activation of CH4. The quest for high-efficiency catalysts for this process is limited by the current drawbacks including poor activity and low selectivity. Here we show a cerium dioxide (CeO2) nanowires supported rhodium (Rh) single-atom (SAs Rh-CeO2 NWs) that can serve as a high-efficiency catalyst for DMC to oxygenates (i.e., CH3OH and CH3OOH) under mild conditions. Compared to Rh/CeO2 nanowires (Rh clusters) prepared by a conventional wet-impregnation method, CeO2 nanowires supported Rh single-atom exhibits 6.5 times higher of the oxygenates yield (1231.7 vs. 189.4 mmol gRh −1 h−1), which largely outperforms that of the reported catalysts in the same class. This work demonstrates a highly efficient DMC process and promotes the research on Rh single-atom catalysts in heterogeneous catalysis. © 2020, The Author(s).
Original languageEnglish
Article number954
JournalNature Communications
Volume11
Issue number1
Online published19 Feb 2020
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2020
Externally publishedYes

Publisher's Copyright Statement

  • This full text is made available under CC-BY 4.0. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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