(521aw) Electrochemically Assisted Activation of Light Alkanes at Ambient Conditions

The abundance of shale gas has led to a significant increase in the production of light alkanes, such as methane, ethane and propane. The process of converting these light alkanes into high-value commodity chemicals is promising but typically requires high temperatures or even high pressures. The direct conversion of light alkanes into valuable chemicals under ambient conditions presents a fundamentally challenging approach.

Herein we report an electrochemically assisted reaction system to convert light alkanes into olefins and oxygenates with high efficiency at ambient conditions. Our system can convert ethane to ethylene and acetic acid with a production rate of 6.92 and 6.23 µmol h^−1 cm^−2, respectively, and a combined selectivity of above 90%, and can convert propane to propene with a production rate of 11.6 µmol h^−1 cm^−2 and a selectivity of over 81% at a positively biased electrode potential, while methane is mainly converted to carbon dioxide. Our system shows great promise in opening new avenues for decentralized alkanes conversion using renewable energy.