A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
Liquid-phase direct oxidation of methane to methanol: systematic study of copper speciation, dispersion, zeolite acidity, and framework aluminum coordination; 
Authors: Gallego-Villada, Luis A.; Mäki-Arvela, Päivi; Eränen, Kari; Virtanen, Pasi; Kumar, Narendra; Lastusaari, Mika; Murzin, Dmitry Yu.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Publication year: 2026
Journal: Journal of Catalysis
Article number: 116924
Volume: 459
ISSN: 0021-9517
eISSN: 1090-2694
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcat.2026.116924
Publication's open availability at the time of reporting: Open Access
Publication channel's open availability : Partially Open Access publication channel
Web address : https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcat.2026.116924
Self-archived copy’s web address: https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/524551551
Self-archived copy's licence: CC BY
Self-archived copy's version: Publisher`s PDF
The direct oxidation of methane to methanol (DOMTM) remains challenging due to the low reactivity of methane and difficulties in achieving high activity and selectivity under mild conditions. In this work, Cu-ZSM-5 catalysts were systematically investigated using H2O2 as oxidant in water at 50 °C to establish quantitative structure–activity relationships. Comprehensive characterization of copper speciation, dispersion, acidity, and framework aluminum coordination was performed. Preservation of the MFI structure was confirmed by X-ray diffraction, while Brønsted and Lewis acid sites were quantified using pyridine adsorption, and framework and extra-framework aluminum coordination was determined by 27Al solid-state NMR. Copper dispersion, quantified by N2O oxidation–H2 reduction (TPR), along with UV–Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy and H2-TPR, indicated the presence of isolated Cu2+ species. Turnover frequency exhibited non-monotonic dependencies on Brønsted acid site density and BAS/LAS ratio. Methanol formation was maximized (productivity of 750 μmol g−1 h−1 with a selectivity of 49% to methanol) within Brønsted acid site densities of 0.58–0.96 μmol m−2 and BAS/LAS ratios of 1.0–1.7, highlighting the synergistic effect of BAS-LAS pairs. These results demonstrate that high methanol productivity arises from a cooperative interplay between copper dispersion, acid site density, and BAS-LAS synergy. Rigorous quantification of all oxidation products (CH3OOH, CH3OH, HCHO, HCOOH, CO2) enabled accurate evaluation of catalytic performance under low-conversion conditions.
Keywords:
BAS-LAS pair, Copper dispersion, Cu-ZSM-5, methane, Methanol
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Funding information in the publication:
The authors acknowledge the Research Council of Finland for funding through the project “Methane to methanol by biomimetic catalysts” (Project No. 361444). The authors also thank the Institute of Biomedicine, University of Turku, which receives financial support from Biocenter Finland, for the analysis of samples by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The authors would like to express their gratitude to Dr. Julián Sánchez-Velandia for his valuable advice on the reaction pathway.