Electrochemical Oxidation of Methane to Methylamine

Abstract

The electrochemical methane (CH₄) oxidation reaction under ambient conditions is a promising approach for natural gas utilization. However, the highly stable nature of CH₄ restrains efficient cleavage of the C–H bond without overoxidation. To this end, we proposed a coupled oxidative strategy for converting CH₄ to value-added products via NH₂ intermediates. The ammonia-oxidation-driven anodic reaction facilitates the formation of NH₂ species and activates CH₄ through nucleophilic attack to achieve C–N bond formation. Further the generated methylamine could be protected from overoxidation in the ammonia-based anolyte. Under such conditions, a methylamine productivity of 3.8 mmol g^–1_cat h^–1 at 1.55 V vs a reversible hydrogen electrode is reported. This work provides new insights into electrocatalytic C–N coupling based on the ammonia oxidation reaction, which could extend to other alkane or alkene conversions.