Session: COMP Poster Session:

Methane (CH₄), an abundant domestic energy resource, is difficult to transport because it is a gas. The conversion of CH₄ into a liquid surrogate, e.g., into methanol (CH₃OH), will make the transportation more cost efficient. Currently, the conversion CH₄ to CH₃OH is expensive and uses strong corrosive acids and high-temperature syntheses. Our[CT1] goal is to find a better catalyst to convert CH₄to CH₃OH. Our current studies model novel bifunctional activation routes to methane catalysis. The model bifunctional catalyst contains two functional groups – one is a metal (Lewis acid) and the other is a non-metal (Lewis base) that is used for the cooperative activation of methane. By using density functional theory methods, multiple quantum chemical simulations are carried out to find the transition states of various metal complexes with CH₄ and compare the results to find the lowest activation energy.

Mary Anderson

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