Activation of methane and ethane and their selective oxidation to the alcohols in protic media

Journal Article · Wed Feb 09 00:00:00 EST 1994 · Journal of the American Chemical Society; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/ja00082a022· OSTI ID:5204005

Sen, A; Benvenuto, M A; Lin, M; Hutson, A C; Basickes, N ^[1]

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1. Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA (United States)

The selective oxidation of methane and ethane to the alcohols in solvents ranging from strong acids to neutral aqueous medium has been studied. In 98% sulfuric acid, methane is oxidized to CH[sub 3]OSO[sub 3]H by a variety of 1e[sup [minus]] and 2e[sup [minus]] oxidants, such as S[sub 2]O[sub 8][sup 2[minus]], Ce(IV), Pd(II), and Hg(II). In the case of ethane, the observed products are CH[sub 3]OSO[sub 3]H and HO[sub 3]SCH[sub 2]CH[sub 2]OSO[sub 3]H. These oxidations appear to proceed through a series of electron-transfer steps involving the intermediacy of radicals and carbocations. We have determined the ratio of rate constants for methane versus methanol oxidation by the Pt(II) ion in water and an average value of 0.17(2) was obtained. The similarity in rate constants for methane and methanol oxidations under such mild conditions is remarkable. Moving to substrates with C-H bonds somewhat weaker than that in methane results in actual reversal of commonly observed selectivity. As an example, we have observed the exclusive oxidation of the methyl group in ethanol resulting in the formation of 1,2-ethanediol as the predominant product. In addition, when ethane was included as a substrate, the relative rate of C-H bond activation by the Pt(II) ion decreased in the order H-CH[sub 2]CH[sub 3] > H-CH[sub 2]CH[sub 2]OH > H-CH(OH)CH[sub 3]. Another example of unusual selectivity was the observation of 1,3-propanediol as the predominant product in the oxidation of 1-propanol by the Pt(II) ion in water. 17 refs., 5 figs.

• OSTI ID: 5204005
• Journal Information: Journal of the American Chemical Society; (United States), Vol. 116:3; ISSN 0002-7863
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

10 SYNTHETIC FUELS
37 INORGANIC
ORGANIC
PHYSICAL AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
03 NATURAL GAS
ETHANE
CHEMICAL ACTIVATION
OXIDATION
ETHANOL
SYNTHESIS
METHANE
METHANOL
CERIUM IONS
CHEMICAL BONDS
CHEMICAL REACTION KINETICS
ELECTRON TRANSFER
MERCURY IONS
PALLADIUM IONS
PLATINUM IONS
RADICALS
SULFURIC ACID
ALCOHOLS
ALKANES
CHARGED PARTICLES
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
HYDROCARBONS
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
HYDROXY COMPOUNDS
INORGANIC ACIDS
IONS
KINETICS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
REACTION KINETICS
100200* - Synthetic Fuels- Production- (1990-)
400201 - Chemical & Physicochemical Properties
030400 - Natural Gas- Products & By-Products