Nitrogen-Doped Titanium Dioxide for Selective Photocatalytic Oxidation of Methane to Oxygenates
Guanghui Feng, Jianing Mao, Tong Sun, Guihua Li, Shoujie Li, Xiao Dong, Yanfang Song, Wei Wei, Wei Chen
Abstract
Photocatalytic conversion of methane (CH 4 ) to value-added chemicals using H 2 O as the oxidant under mild conditions is a desired sustainable pathway for synthesizing commodity chemicals. However, controlling product selectivity while maintaining high product yields is greatly challenging. Herein, we develop a highly efficient strategy, based on the precise control of the types of nitrogen dopants, and the design of photocatalysts, to achieve high selectivity and productivity of oxygenates via CH 4 photocatalytic conversion. The primary product (methanol) is obtained in a high yield of 159.8 μmol·g –1 ·h –1 and 47.7% selectivity, and the selectivity of oxygenate compounds reached 92.5%. The unique hollow porous structure and substituted nitrogen sites of nitrogen-doped TiO 2 synergistically promote its photo-oxidation performance. Furthermore, in situ attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy provides direct evidence of the key intermediates and their evolution for producing methanol and multicarbon oxygenates. This study provides insights into the mechanism of photocatalytic CH 4 conversion.