Development of catalysts for selective formation of methanol from methane in fuel cell systems

Co–PI: Almir Oliveira Neto – IPEN – aolivei@ipen.br

Co–coordinator: Thiago Lopes – IPEN – thiago.lopes@ipen.br

The project intends to promote the selective oxidation of methane to methanol by electrochemical means in a simple step through the development of electrocatalysts: (i) selective for the formation of hydrogen peroxide in–situ; (ii) capable of replicating the oxidation cycle of methane to methanol present in metalloenzymes; and (ii) based on conventional heterogeneous catalysis, but operating properly under an electrochemical control at intermediate temperatures.