Novel catalysts for methane activation. Quarterly report No. 9, October 1, 1994--December 31, 1994

Fullerenes are a recently discovered allotrope of carbon that have been found to possess unusual properties, some of which may be ideal for methane activation. This project is designed to evaluate these carbon-based materials for conversion of methane into higher hydrocarbons. The project is divided into three technical tasks. Task 1 deals with synthesis and characterization of the fullerenes and fullerene soots, Task 2 with testing of the catalysts, and Task 3 with evaluation of the results and technical reporting. The results and accomplishments for this quarter are as follows: Reconstituted fullerene soot was prepared by adding C{sub 60} to a toluene-extracted Terrasimco fullerene soot; K-doped fullerene soots of different potassium concentrations were prepared; Fullerene soot doped with cesium was prepared by addition of cesium carbonate; The reconstituted fullerene soot was tested for methane activation. K-doped soots at different K concentrations were tested for methane activation. K-doped soot was examined for methane activation in the presence of co-feeds of either ethane or ethylene; a higher selectivity to C{sub 3} and C{sub 4} hydrocarbons was observed for the K-soot than when these reactions were conducted using soot as a catalyst, or when thermally induced. The Cs-doped soot was tested for methane activation; the selectivity for hydrocarbons from the methane conversion catalyzed by this soot was found to be higher than catalyzed by fullerene soot but lower than by K-soot