Surface Species Produced by the Reaction between Methane and Oxygen Radical Anion O·− on MgO at 298 K

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Abstract The reaction between gaseous CH4 and surface O·− on MgO was studied at 298 K. The surface O·− was formed through a reaction of N2O with electrons trapped on MgO and examined with EPR. One mole of surface O·− determined by EPR was found to react with one mole of CH4 determined by GC. The resultant surface species were observed by an FT-IR and were identified to be methoxide and weakly absorbed methanol. The adsorbed methanol was produced by the reaction of methyl radicals (the initial product) with the surface hydroxy groups. Both products (methoxide and methanol) are found to be decomposed to CO and H2 at the elevated temperature such as 773 K.