Research progress in direct oxidation of methane to methanol

• 1、Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Materials and Technology for Energy Conversion，College of Materials Science and Technology，Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics，Nanjing 210016)
• 2、Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics，Nanjing 210016)

Abstract：The chemical properties of methane are relatively stable. At present, industrial production mainly uses indirect oxidation with high energy consumption and high production cost. Methane is first converted into synthesis gas under high temperature and high pressure conditions, and then methanol is prepared under the action of copper catalyst. Because of this, the activation of methane molecules by means of different homogeneous or heterogeneous catalysts, the direct oxidation of them to methanol has received increasing attention. However, when most of the catalysts participate in the reaction, methane first undergoes a C-H bond cleavage, and the subsequent oxidation process tends to progress rapidly and is difficult to control. How to selectively convert methane to methanol and avoid excessive oxidation has become a concern of researchers. In this paper, the progress in the synthesis of methanol and methanol derivatives by industrial, thermal and photocatalytic methods using methane as raw material is reviewed.

Keywords： Methane direct oxidation methanol zeolite catalyst