Au decorated Pd nanowires for methane oxidation to liquid C1 products

The direct methane (CH 4 ) oxidation to high value-added C1 chemicals is a great promising strategy to explore the CH 4 resource utilization. However, the low activity and selectivity of catalytic performance remains a great conundrum due to the difficulty to activate the C H bond and the unmanageable over oxidation. Herein, Pd x Au y nanowires (NWs) with various Pd/Au atomic ratios are presented as ideal models to explore the atomic-level effect of PdAu atoms for the direct CH 4 oxidation. The influence of reaction parameters are systematically investigated, and Pd 9 Au 1 NWs display a maximum yield of 2890.3 μmol g −1 h −1 with 99% selectivity for the liquid C1 oxygenated products. This enhanced performance is attributed to the combination of one-dimensional structure and the synergistic effect from the suitable portion of Au on Pd sites, which regulates bond strength between adsorbed radicals (•OH, •OOH, •CH 3 ) and PdAu atoms, confirmed by the density function theory calculations. Au decorated Pd NWs for methane direct oxidation to liquid C1 products with high activity and selectivity. • High quality Pd x Au y NWs with different Pd/Au atomic ratios are prepared by galvanic replacement reaction. • The Pd 9 Au 1 NWs show a maximum yield of 2890.3 μmol g -1 h -1 and a 99% selectivity for liquid C1 products. • The incorporation of Au moderates binding strength of intermediates, facilitating the C-H activation.