Researchers discover photocatalytic approach to converting methane to ethanol

In Hong Kong, In advancing sustainable energy solutions, an international collaborative team of scientists led by the University of Hong Kong has achieved a significant milestone in low-carbon chemical conversion. In their recent publication in Nature, the team has discovered a photocatalytic approach to converting methane to ethanol with high selectivity of about 80% and a methane conversion rate of 2.3% in a single run using a packed-bed flow reactor.

The system achieves an impressive apparent quantum efficiency (AQE) of 9.4%, which measures how effectively it converts incident photons into electrons that participate in the reaction under specific wavelength conditions.