Noble-metal-free dye-sensitized selective oxidation of methane to methanol with green light(550 nm)

Developing low-energy input route for conversion of methane(CH_(4))to value-added methanol(CH_(3)OH)at room temperature is important in environment and industry.Bonding in electron donor-acceptor hybrid can potentially promote charge transfer and photocatalytic efficiency of CH_(4) conversion.Herein,bonding in electron donor rhodamine B(RhB)-acceptor(TiO_(2))hybrid(RhB/TiO_(2))significantly promotes the selectivity of photocatalytic oxidation of CH4 to CH3OH and utilization of visible light(low-energy photons)at ambient condition.Even under green light irradiation(λ=550 nm),the noble-metal-free RhB/TiO_(2) hybrid synthesized presents enhanced oxidation of CH4 to CH_(3)OH with a generation rate of 143µmol·g^(−1)·h^(−1) and selectivity of 94%.This work demonstrates the possibility and feasibility of noble-metal-free catalysts for activating CH4 under visible light at room temperature.