(52e) Real-Time Electrocatalytic Control of C-H and C-C Bond Transformation in Alkanes

Producing fuels and chemicals using electricity has drawn considerable interest in recent decades. However, research in electrocatalysis, which allows us to link electricity to chemical transformations, remains strongly focused on the electricity-driven transformation of small inorganic molecules such as CO₂, H₂O, N₂, as well as oxygen containing molecules derived from biomass. Yet, comprehensive industrial electrification will require electrocatalytic methods that can promote the reactions that make up the core of the chemicals and fuels industry: n‑alkane transformations.

In this presentation, I will show that using electricity to promote n-alkane transformations opens entirely novel avenues of reactivity with the potential to address long-standing challenges in reactivity and selectivity plaguing catalytic alkane chemistry. Specifically, I will show how our group combined fundamental understanding of the interfacial processes occurring in electrocatalytic reactions with in-situ product analysis using electrochemical mass spectrometry, to gain independent control over the elementary steps of complex alkane transformation reactions in real-time. Using the real-time modulation of the electrode potential applied to an electrocatalyst, we were able to independently control the adsorption of n-alkanes to electrocatalyst surfaces, initiate the transformation of adsorbates while they are bound to the catalyst, and selectively desorb desired products, while leaving others bound. These methods allowed us to demonstrate the room-temperature fragmentation of ethane and butane into shorter chain fragments, open pathways towards the oxidation of n-alkanes in fuel cells, and achieve a series of other industrially relevant hydrocarbon transformations at room temperature.

Reference

Lucky, C., Jiang, S., Shih, C.-R., Zavala, V., Schreier, M. Nature Catalysis 145, 1021–1031 (2024).