Heterobimetallic Complexes As Controlled Precursors for Atomically Dispersed, Promoted Methane Oxidation Catalysts

摘要

Thanks to improvements in fracking technology, methane has become a cheap and abundant commodity that is gaining a prominent position in the energy scenario. However, there is a crucial need for improved methane combustion catalysts, as low temperature methane oxidation can reduce emissions from natural gas leaks, and reduce levels of toxic gases released from flaring, such as NO_x, SO_x and CO. In this study, a method for producing a highly active catalyst that combines both promotion and atomic dispersion is presented. Promoted, atomically disperse catalysts are extremely difficult to produce, especially with traditional impregnation methods. These techniques rely on a probabilistic adsorption of a compound onto a support, with no real control over distribution and composition, but promotion often requires two metals to be in extremely close vicinity to one another. The issue is only exacerbated when attempting to achieve atomic dispersion, as this often requires extremely low weight loadings, meaning that statistical occurrences of the metal and promoter depositing onto the support with a high interface are extremely low.