Electrochemical Reoxidation Enables Continuous Methane-to-Methanol Catalysis with Aqueous Pt Salts

The direct conversion of methane to methanol would enable better utilization of abundant natural gas resources. In the presence of stoichiometric Pt IV oxidants, Pt II ions are capable of catalyzing this reaction in aqueous solutions at modest temperatures. Practical implementation of this chemistry requires a viable strategy for replacing or regenerating the expensive Pt IV oxidant. Herein, we establish an electrochemical strategy for continuous regeneration of the Pt IV oxidant to furnish overall electrochemical methane oxidation. We show that Cl-adsorbed Pt electrodes catalyze facile oxidation of Pt II to Pt IV at low overpotential without concomitant methanol oxidation. Exploiting this facile electrochemistry, we maintain the Pt II/IV ratio during Pt II -catalyzed methane oxidation via in situ monitoring of the solution potential coupled with dynamic modulation of the electric current. This approach leads to sustained methane oxidation catalysis with 70% selectivity for methanol.