Fundamental limitation of electrocatalytic methane conversion to methanol.

The electrochemical oxidation of methane to methanol at remote oil fields where methane is flared is the ultimate solution to harness this valuable energy resource. In this study we identify a fundamental surface catalytic limitation of this process in terms of a compromise between selectivity and activity, as oxygen evolution is a competing reaction. By investigating two classes of materials, rutile oxides and two-dimensional transition metal nitrides and carbides (MXenes), we find a linear relationship between the energy needed to activate methane, i.