Catalytic partial oxidation of methane presents a promising
route
to convert the abundant but environmentally undesired methane gas
to liquid methanol with applications as an energy carrier and a platform
chemical. However, an outstanding challenge for this process remains
in developing a catalyst that can oxidize methane selectively to methanol
with good activity under continuous flow conditions in the gas phase
using O2as an oxidant. Here, we report a Fe catalyst supported
by a metal–organic framework (MOF), Fe/UiO-66, for the selective
and on-stream partial oxidation of methane to methanol. Kinetic studies
indicate the continuous production of methanol at a superior reaction
rate of 5.9 × 10–2μmolMeOHgFe–1s–1at 180
°C and high selectivity toward methanol, with the catalytic turnover
verified by transient methane isotopic measurements. Through an array
of spectroscopic characterizations, electron-deficient Fe species
rendered by the MOF support is identified as the probable active site
for the reaction.