Intrinsic kinetics of the oxidation of methane over an industrial copper(II) oxide catalyst on a γ-alumina support

Recent progress of catalytic methane combustion over transition metal oxide catalysts

Methane (CH4) is one of the cleanest fossil fuel resources and is playing an increasingly indispensable role in our way to carbon neutrality, by providing less carbon-intensive heat and electricity worldwide. On the other hand, the atmospheric concentration of CH4 has raced past 1,900 ppb in 2021, almost triple its pre-industrial levels. As a greenhouse gas at least 86 times as potent as carbon dioxide (CO2) over 20 years, CH4 is becoming a major threat to the global goal of deviating Earth temperature from the +2°C scenario. Consequently, all CH4-powered facilities must be strictly coupled with remediation plans for unburned CH4 in the exhaust to avoid further exacerbating the environmental stress, among which catalytic CH4 combustion (CMC) is one of the most effective strategies to solve this issue. Most current CMC catalysts are noble-metal-based owing to their outstanding C–H bond activation capability, while their high cost and poor thermal stability have driven the search for alternative options, among which transition metal oxide (TMO) catalysts have attracted extensive attention due to their Earth abundance, high thermal stability, variable oxidation states, rich acidic and basic sites, etc. To date, many TMO catalysts have shown comparable catalytic performance with that of noble metals, while their fundamental reaction mechanisms are explored to a much less extent and remain to be controversial, which hinders the further optimization of the TMO catalytic systems. Therefore, in this review, we provide a systematic compilation of the recent research advances in TMO-based CMC reactions, together with their detailed reaction mechanisms. We start with introducing the scientific fundamentals of the CMC reaction itself as well as the unique and desirable features of TMOs applied in CMC, followed by a detailed introduction of four different kinetic reaction models proposed for the reactions. Next, we categorize the TMOs of interests into single and hybrid systems, summarizing their specific morphology characterization, catalytic performance, kinetic properties, with special emphasis on the reaction mechanisms and interfacial properties. Finally, we conclude the review with a summary and outlook on the TMOs for practical CMC applications. In addition, we also further prospect the enormous potentials of TMOs in producing value-added chemicals beyond combustion, such as direct partial oxidation to methanol.

Current scenario of CNG vehicular pollution and their possible abatement technologies: an overview

Compressed natural gas is an alternative green fuel for automobile industry. Recently, the Indian government is targeting to replace all the conventional fuel vehicles by compressed natural gas (CNG) automobiles due to its several merits. Still, the presence of a significant amount of CO, CH₄, and NO_x gases in the CNG vehicle exhaust are quiet a matter of concern. Thus, to control the emissions from CNG engines, the major advances are under development of and oxidation is one of them in catalytic converter. In literature, the catalysts such as noble and non-noble metals have been reported for separate oxidation of CO and CH_4.. Experimentally, it was found that non-noble metal catalysts are preferred due to its low cost, good thermal stability, and molding tractability. In literature, several articles have been published for CO and CH₄ oxidation but no review paper is still available. Thus, the present review provides a comprehensive overview of separate as well as simultaneous CO and CH₄ oxidation reactions for CNG vehicular emission control.

Synthesis of K–Pd doped NiCo2O4−δ by reactive calcination route for oxidation of CO–CH4 emissions from CNG vehicles

The present study is devoted to formulating a doped spinel catalyst by a novel route of calcination for the oxidation of the CO–CH₄ mixture emitted from compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles.

Solid-Liquid-Vapor Etching of Semiconductor Nanowires

The vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) mechanism enables the bottom-up, or additive, growth of semiconductor nanowires. Here, we demonstrate a reverse process, whereby catalyst atoms are selectively removed from the eutectic catalyst droplet. This process, which is driven by the dicarbonyl precursor 2,3-butanedione, results in axial nanowire etching. Experiments as a function of substrate temperature, etchant flow rate, and nanowire diameter support a solid-liquid-vapor (SLV) mechanism. An etch model with reaction at the liquid-vapor interface as the rate-limiting step is consistent with our experiments. These results identify a new mechanism to in situ tune the concentration of semiconductor atoms in the catalyst droplet.