Abstract
Various silica-supported rare earth oxides were examined for photocatalytic methane conversion around room temperature. Among them, silica-supported cerium oxide with low loading amount showed the highest photoactivity for nonoxidative coupling of methane (NOCM) to produce both ethane and hydrogen. XANES, DR UV−vis, and phosphorescence spectra of silica-supported cerium oxide revealed that the main species on the low loading samples were highly dispersed Ce(III) oxides, suggesting that they were the photocatalytic active sites for the reaction. The highly dispersed Ce(III) oxides could be formed also on alumina, which enhanced the photoactivity of alumina for the NOCM.
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