Direct Photocatalytic Synthesis of Acetic Acid from Methane and CO at Ambient Temperature Using Water as Oxidant.

Direct functionalization of methane selectively to value-added chemicals is still one of the main challenges in modern science. Acetic acid is an important industrial chemical produced nowadays by expensive and environmentally unfriendly carbonylation of methanol using homogeneous catalysts. Here, we report a new photocatalytic reaction route to synthesize acetic acid from CH and CO at room temperature using water as the sole external oxygen source.

Light olefin synthesis from a diversity of renewable and fossil feedstocks: state-of the-art and outlook.

Light olefins are important feedstocks and platform molecules for the chemical industry. Their synthesis has been a research priority in both academia and industry. There are many different approaches to the synthesis of these compounds, which differ by the choice of raw materials, catalysts and reaction conditions.