Oxidation of alkanes to alcohols
The invention provides processes and materials for the efficient and cost-effective functionalization of alkanes, such as methane from natural gas, to provide esters, alcohols, and other compounds. The method can be used to produce liquid fuels such as methanol from a natural gas methane-containing feedstock. The soft oxidizing electrophile, a compound of a main group, post-transitional element such as Tl, Pb, Bi, and I, that reacts to activate the alkane C—H bond can be regenerated using inexpensive regenerants such as hydrogen peroxide, oxygen, halogens, nitric acid, etc. Main group compounds useful for carrying out this reaction includes haloacetate salts of metals having a pair of available oxidation states, such as Tl, Pb, Bi, and I. The inventors herein believe that a unifying feature of many of the MXn electrophiles useful in carrying out this reaction, such as Tl, Pb, and Bi species, is their isoelectronic configuration in the alkane-reactive oxidation state; the electrons having the configuration [Xe]4f145d10, with an empty 6s orbital. However, the iodine reagents have a different electronic configuration.
- Research Organization:
- Scripps Research Inst., La Jolla, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- GQ10044-133945
- Assignee:
- The Scripps Research Institute (La Jolla, CA)
- Patent Number(s):
- 10,745,340
- Application Number:
- 14/770,039
- OSTI ID:
- 1735152
- Resource Relation:
- Patent File Date: 02/25/2014
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Alkane Dehydrogenation Catalyzed by a Fluorinated Phebox Iridium Complex
Reaction of atomic oxygen with alkanes. Regioselective alcohol formation on. gamma. -radiolysis of liquid carbon dioxide solutions of alkanes