Catalysis of Methane and Propane Conversion to Value-Add Chemicals
This research community focuses on the selective transformation of methane and propane into higher-value chemicals, primarily through dehydrogenation and oxidative coupling processes.
The work centers on developing oxide catalysts, zeolites, and single-atom systems to facilitate propane dehydrogenation and methane conversion. Recurring themes include the oxidative coupling of methane, the production of methanol and ethanol from methane, and the use of photocatalytic and electrochemical methods to drive these reactions. Key materials involve copper, vanadium, and molybdenum oxides, often supported on zeolites or modified with oxygen vacancies to enhance selectivity. The research addresses the challenge of breaking the strong carbon-hydrogen bonds in these light hydrocarbons to produce liquid fuels and chemical feedstocks with high efficiency and minimal byproducts.
The community is most prominent in vanadium research, accounting for 2.3% of all vanadium studies, and in hydrogen research, representing 0.8% of that field. It also contributes significantly to copper and molybdenum research, with shares of 0.6% and 0.9% respectively.
The community comprises 16,276 papers, published primarily in the Journal of Catalysis, Catalysis Today, and Applied Catalysis A: General. Recent work continues to explore photocatalytic methane oxidation to oxygenates and the tuning of active sites for selective propane dehydrogenation.