Palladium decorated anatase for photocatalytic partial oxidation of methane to ethane

Photocatalytic partial oxidation of methane (POM) is recognized as a promising, yet challenging technology to realize C2+ production. However, the dilemma between the yield and selectivity to C2+ products still hinders the commercial application. Here, a strategy for the continuous transformation of methane to ethane with a high activity and a remarkable selectivity is presented when using Pd decorated anatase as the catalyst. The optimized Pd1.8-TiO2 shows a high ethane yield of 40.9 & mu;mol/h, which is 13 times higher than that of bare TiO2. The ethane selectivity of 80.4% is also comparable to the previous benchmark in POM processes. In situ characterizations reveal that Pd nanoparticle functions as a hole acceptor to facilitate charge separation, thereby significantly improving the performance of POM.