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Please cite this article in press as: J. Xu, et al., Continuous selective oxidation of methane to methanol over Cu-and Fe-modified ZSM-5 catalysts in a flow reactor, Catal. Today (2015), http://dx. a b s t r a c tThe selective oxidation of methane to methanol is a key challenge in catalysis. Iron and copper modified ZSM-5 catalysts are shown to be effective for this reaction using H 2 O 2 as the oxidant under continuous flow operation. Co-impregnation of ZSM-5 with Fe and Cu by chemical vapour impregnation yielded catalysts that showed high selectivity to methanol (>92% selectivity, 0.5% conversion), as the only product in the liquid phase. The catalysts investigated did not deactivate during continuous reaction, and methanol selectivity remained high. The effect of reaction pressure, temperature, hydrogen peroxide concentration and catalyst mass were investigated. An increase in any of these led to increased methane conversion, with high methanol selectivity (≥73%) maintained throughout. Catalysts were characterised using DR-FTIR, DR-UV-Vis and 27 Al MAS-NMR spectroscopy.

a b s t r a c tThe direct synthesis of hydrogen peroxide using supported gold palladium catalysts prepared by incipient wetness impregnation is described and discussed. The effect of an acid pre-treatment step on the activated carbon support prior to the deposition of the metals, together with the effect of the calcination temperature, has been investigated. The acid pre-treated samples all show superior activity to those materials prepared with the omission of this acid pre-treatment stage. The calcination temperature affects both the re-usability and hydrogenation activity of the catalysts. Detailed characterisation using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy is described. The enhanced activity is associated with a higher surface concentration of palladium in the acid pre-treated samples which is principally present as Pd 2+ . Calcination of the catalysts at 400°C is required to achieve re-usable and stable catalysts, and this is associated with the morphology and dispersion of the metal nanoparticles. The surface ratio of Pd 0 /Pd 2+ is found to be an important factor controlling the hydrogenation of hydrogen peroxide, and a series of controlled reduction and re-oxidation of a sample show how the Pd 0 /Pd 2+ surface ratio can influence the relative rates of hydrogen peroxide synthesis and hydrogenation.

The direct synthesis of hydrogen peroxide offers a potentially green route to the production of this important commodity chemical. Early studies showed that Pd is a suitable catalyst, but recent work indicated that the addition of Au enhances the activity and selectivity significantly. The addition of a third metal using impregnation as a facile preparation method was thus investigated. The addition of a small amount of Pt to a CeO2-supported AuPd (weight ratio of 1:1) catalyst significantly enhanced the activity in the direct synthesis of H2O2 and decreased the non-desired over-hydrogenation and decomposition reactions. The addition of Pt to the AuPd nanoparticles influenced the surface composition, thus leading to the marked effects that were observed on the catalytic formation of hydrogen peroxide. In addition, an experimental approach that can help to identify the optimal nominal ternary alloy compositions for this reaction is demonstrated.