Activation and Conversion of Methane to Syngas over ZrO/Cu(111) Catalysts near Room Temperature.

Enzymatic systems achieve the catalytic conversion of methane at room temperature under mild conditions. In this study, varying thermodynamic and kinetic parameters, we show that the reforming of methane by water (MWR, CH + HO → CO + 3H) and the water-gas shift reaction (WGS, CO + HO → H + CO), two essential processes to integrate fossil fuels toward a H energy loop, can be achieved on ZrO/Cu(111) catalysts near room temperature. Measurements of ambient-pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and mass spectrometry, combined with density functional calculations and kinetic Monte Carlo simulations, were used to study the behavior of the inverse oxide/metal catalysts.

Surface characterization and methane activation on SnO/CuO/Cu(111) inverse oxide/metal catalysts.

To activate methane at low or medium temperatures is a difficult task and a pre-requisite for the conversion of this light alkane into high value chemicals. Herein, we report the preparation and characterizations of novel SnO/CuO/Cu(111) interfaces that enable low-temperature methane activation. Scanning tunneling microscopy identified small, well-dispersed SnO nanoclusters on the CuO/Cu(111) substrate with an average size of 8 Å, and such morphology was sustained up to 450 K in UHV annealing.

Plasma-Initiated Graft Polymerization of Acrylic Acid onto Fluorine-Doped Tin Oxide as a Platform for Immobilization of Water-Oxidation Catalysts.

The discovery of new and versatile strategies for the immobilization of molecular water-oxidation catalysts (WOCs) is crucial for developing clean energy conversion devices [e.g., (photo)electrocatalytic cells for water splitting].