Unmet Need
Greenhouse gases are known to trap heat in the atmosphere and consist of carbon dioxide (80%), methane (10%), nitrous oxide (7%), and fluorinated gases (3%) (see EPA). More specifically, methane is a byproduct of factors such as landfill wastes, agricultural including live stock as well as the commonly known sources of coal, natural gas, and oil. Most methods of managing the contribution of methane to the atmosphere are preventative instead of harnessing methane for valuable applications. This is most likely due to the fact that selective conversion of methane (CH4) into value-added chemicals represents a grand challenge for the efficient utilization of rising hydrocarbon sources. Therefore, there is a strong need to develop technologies that can potentially integrate methane into energy sources.
Technology Overview
Researchers at Johns Hopkins have developed a novel approach using dimeric copper centers supported on graphitic carbon nitride as advanced catalysts for partial oxidation of methane (CH4). The copper-dimer catalysts demonstrate high selectivity for partial oxidation of methane under both thermo- and photo-catalytic reaction conditions. In particular, this invention achieves >10% conversion and >98% selectivity toward methyl oxygenates and a mass-specific activity of 1399.3 mmol gCu-1 h-1.
Stage of Development
Experimental data is available.
