Direct oxidation of methane to oxygenates over heteropolyanions

Partial oxidation of methane to formaldehyde and methanol was studied at atmospheric pressure in the temperature range of 700–750 °C using heteropolycompound catalysts (NH4)6HSiMo11FeO40, (NH4)4PMo11FeO39, and H4PMo11VO40, which were prepared and characterized by various analysis techniques such as infrared, visible UV, XRD and DTA. O2 or N2O was used as the oxidizing agent, and the principal products of the reaction were CH3OH, CH2O, CO, CO2, and water. The conversion and the selectivity of products depend strongly on the reaction temperature, the nature of oxidizing agent, and the composition of catalyst.