Oxidation of methane to methanol by hydrogen peroxide on a supported hematin catalyst

Abstract The production of methanol from methane by the monooxygenase reaction catalyzed by hematin as mimic of cytochrome P-450 was studied at relatively low temperature and atmospheric pressure. Of iron protoporphyrin catalysts on different supports (Al 2 O 3 , zeolite NaX, and chromium- and magnesium-containing aluminosilicates), the PPFe +3 OH/ALSiMg catalyst exhibited the highest activity in methane hydroxylation Under optimal conditions, the catalyst showed the highest hydroxylating activity during the first 30 min of functioning (the yield of methanol exceeded 60 wt%, and the selectivity was close to 97 wt%). In more than 5 h, the catalyst was completely deactivated.