Methane to methanol conversion on vanadium and niobium oxide clusters

CHED 1004

Stephanie M. Braun, Adam D. Arnold, and Eric D. Glendening, glendening@indstate.edu. Department of Chemistry, Indiana State University, Terre Haute, IN 47809
The partial oxidation of methane (CH4) to methanol (CH3OH) has attracted considerable attention. If public resistance to nuclear energy remains strong, demand for natural gas as an energy source will likely escalate. Significant reserves of natural gas exist, particularly in Asia, but gas liquefaction for transport is costly. Methane to methanol conversion would yield a conveniently transportable liquid fuel. Metal oxide catalysts are known to facilitate this oxidation, and chemists have recently studied the reaction on small metal oxide clusters. We are using computational chemistry methods to examine the structure of metal oxide clusters, V2On+ and Nb2On+ (n=4-6), and to determine how these clusters facilitate the conversion of methane to methanol. We find that the reaction pathways involve four steps, (i) formation of a strongly bound methane-metal oxide adduct, (ii) C-H insertion, (iii) methyl shift, and (iv) methanol elimination.
 

Undergraduate Research Poster Session: Physical Chemistry
2:00 PM-4:00 PM, Monday, April 7, 2008 Morial Convention Center -- Hall A, Poster

Division of Chemical Education

The 235th ACS National Meeting, New Orleans, LA, April 6-10, 2008