A radical twist to the versatile behavior of iron in selective methane activation

Abstract

Things go better without coke! The selective activation of methane and its direct conversion into light olefins and aromatic compounds remains a formidable challenge. Recent work shows that a catalyst material consisting of lattice-confined single iron atoms is very active and selective in the direct, nonoxidative conversion of methane into ethylene, benzene, and naphthalene without the formation of coke deposits.