The direct partial oxidation of CH₄ to dimethyl ether (DME) on a Pt/Y₂O₃ catalyst was studied using a mixture of NO and O₂ as the oxidant. The reaction was carried out in a fixed bed reactor at 0.1 MPa and 275–400 °C using 20% CH₄, 1% NO, and 1% O₂ in inert gas. No methanol was detected in the effluent and a contact time study demonstrated that DME was a primary product. The DME productivities were comparable to the oxygenate (methanol, formaldehyde) productivities obtained with stronger oxidants such as N₂O, H₂O_2, and O₃. The presence of Pt and the NO + O₂ gas mixture was necessary for DME formation; without NO only CO₂ was produced. During the methane partial oxidation reaction NO and NO₂ were not reduced to N₂, indicating that they worked as a shuttle to transfer oxygen from O₂ to CH₄. In situ Fourier transform infrared showed the formation of a bridged nitrate species on the Pt/Y₂O₃ catalyst which was associated with the reaction of CH₄. A comprehensive study of this bridged nitrate species indicated they were formed on yttria sites close to Pt and were likely responsible for the formation of DME. The characterization of catalysts using X-ray diffraction showed that the Pt was highly dispersed and CO uptake measurements indicated a particle size of ~3 nm. Analysis by X-ray absorption fine structure measurements showed the presence of Pt oxide with Pt-O and Pt-Pt bonds.

使用NO和O ₂的混合物作为氧化剂，研究了在Pt / Y ₂ O ₃催化剂上CH ₄直接部分氧化为二甲醚（DME）。该反应是在固定床反应器中于0.1 MPa和275–400°C下使用惰性气体中的20％CH _4，1％NO和1％O ₂进行的。在废水中未检测到甲醇，接触时间研究表明DME是主要产物。DME生产率可与使用强氧化剂（例如N ₂ O，H ₂ O ₂和O ₃）获得的含氧化合物（甲醇，甲醛）生产率相媲美。Pt和NO + O _2的存在形成DME所需的气体混合物; 没有NO，仅产生CO ₂。在甲烷部分氧化反应过程中，NO和NO ₂未被还原为N ₂，表明它们可作为将氧气从O ₂转移至CH ₄的梭子。原位傅立叶变换红外光谱显示在Pt / Y ₂ O ₃催化剂上形成桥连的硝酸盐类物质，这与CH ₄的反应有关。对这种桥接的硝酸盐物种的全面研究表明，它们是在靠近Pt的氧化钇位点上形成的，可能是DME形成的原因。使用X射线衍射对催化剂进行的表征表明，Pt高度分散，CO吸收测量表明粒径约为3 nm。通过X射线吸收精细结构测量的分析表明存在具有Pt-O和Pt-Pt键的Pt氧化物。