Metal Catalysts For Methane Deprotonation

Commonly used natural gas is composed almost entirely of methane. However, transporting methane as a gas is incredibly dangerous. Thus, it is of interest to find a method to transfer methane to a liquid, namely methanol. To complete this reaction in an energetically efficient manner, a metal catalyst is necessary. The Metz physical chemistry laboratory has investigated the interaction between iron and methane by creating iron-methane complexes in varying stoichiometry using mass spectrometry and vibrational spectroscopy. The vibrational spectra can then yield information about how the iron effects the carbon to hydrogen bonds in methane. Additionally, computational methods are used to identify possible geometries and binding energies that can be compared to the experimental data.