Photooxidation of Methane to Methanol by Perrhenate in Water under Ambient Conditions

Zusammenfassung

The oxidation of methane to methanol takes place selectively by the photolysis of perrhenate in aqueous solution in the presence of methane. This photoreaction is formally an oxygen atom transfer. Because the reoxidation of the reduced perrhenate is accomplished with hydrogen peroxide the overall process can be viewed as photocatalytic oxidation of methane to methanol: CH4 H2O2 -> CH3OH + H2O.