Methane, as the main component of shale gas, natural gas and combustible ice, is among the most promising energy resources for producing high-value chemicals. However, it is still challenging to activate methane under mild conditions due to the high symmetry and low polarizability of methane molecules.

Recently, a research group led by Prof. Deng Dehui and Assoc. Prof. Yu Liang from the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) achieved highly efficient methane conversion to liquid C1 oxygenates over ultrathin two-dimensional (2D) Ru nanosheets with lattice-confined Cu atoms.

This study was published in Chem Catalysis on August 24.

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