Direct catalytic conversion of methane and light hydrocarbon gases. Quarterly report No. 8, July 16--September 30, 1988

The goal of this research is to develop catalysts that directly convert methane and light hydrocarbons to intermediates that later can be converted to either liquid fuels or value-added chemicals, as economics dictate. During this reporting period, we investigated the behavior of some of our catalysts under working conditions using diffuse reflectance fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (DRIFT). Two catalysts (FeRu{sub 3} and Ru{sub 4} on magnesia) were examined under nitrogen, and the Ru{sub 4}/MgO system was examined under a methane/argon mixture. We synthesized ruthenium clusters supported on carbon as catalysts for methane reforming and new phthalocyanines to be used as catalyst precursors for oxidizing methane to methanol. The Ru{sub 4} and FeRu{sub 3} complexes supported on magnesia exhibited very different behavior in the DRIFT cell when heated under nitrogen. The FeRu{sub 3}/MgO system was completely decarbonylated by 400{degrees}C, while spectrum of the Ru{sub 4} system displayed carbonyl peaks until the temperature rose to over 600{degrees}C. The ru{sub 4}/MgO system behaved almost identically under methane/argon as it did under nitrogen in the carbonyl region. In the C-H region of the spectrum (2800-3100 cm{sup {minus}1}), peaks were observed under methane but not under nitrogen. The intensity of these peaks did not vary with temperature. We synthesized new catalysts by supporting the Ru{sub 4} and Ru{sub 6} clusters on carbon. Both acidic zeolites (Type Y or 5A) and basic magnesia (MgO) have been observed to react with hydrocarbons at high temperatures; these reactions generally lead to coking, then deactivation of the catalyst contained on these supports. We expect carbon to be a truly inert support