Efficient methane electrocatalytic conversion over a Ni-based hollow fiber electrode

Natural gas and shale gas, with methane as the main component, are important and clean fossil energy resources. Direct catalytic conversion of methane to valuable chemicals is considered a crown jewel topic in catalysis. Substantial studies on processes including methane reforming, oxidative coupling of methane, non-oxidative coupling of methane, etc. have been conducted for many years. However, owing to the intrinsic chemical inertness of CH 4 , harsh reaction conditions involving either extremely high temperatures or highly oxidative reactants are required to activate the C–H bonds of CH 4 in such thermocatalytic processes, which may cause the target products, such as ethylene or methanol, to be further converted into coke or CO and CO 2 . It is desirable to adopt a new strategy for direct CH 4 conversion under mild conditions. Herein, we report that efficient electrocatalytic oxidation of methane to alcohols at ambient temperature and pressure can be achieved using a NiO/Ni hollow fiber electrode. This work opens a new avenue for direct catalytic conversion of CH 4 . Electrocatalytic methane conversion was carried out using a porous hollow fiber NiO/Ni anode, in which CH 4 is converted into methanol and ethanol in a 0.1 mol/L aqueous NaOH solution at ambient temperature and pressure.