Research on the electro-conversion of methane has been driven by the necessity of addressing a key catalytic challenge to oxidize methane to liquid products at ambient conditions. In this work, we employed a series of binary metal oxide catalysts with capsule-like morphology by anchoring ZrO₂ on Cu oxide (CuO_x) for the oxidation of methane. The ZrO₂:CuO_{x(180, 24)} was found to convert methane with a difference in current density up to 13.35 mA cm⁻² in comparison with ZrO₂, CuO_x, and other ZrO₂:CuO_x. The density functional theory calculations show that the enhanced activity originated from the increased charge distribution in ZrO₂ after the ZrO₂ cluster grew on the Cu₂O(111), which enhances the activity of CH₄ dissociation and improves the electronic conduction through Cu₂O support. Benefiting from these advantages, the hybrids exhibit a high catalytic activity and stability. Surprisingly, 1-propanol and 2-propanol were the main products after 18 -h operation under ambient conditions.

甲烷电转化的研究已经受到解决关键催化挑战的推动，该挑战是在环境条件下将甲烷氧化为液体产物。在这项工作中，我们通过将ZrO ₂锚定在Cu氧化物（CuO _x）上用于甲烷氧化，采用了一系列具有胶囊状形态的二元金属氧化物催化剂。与ZrO ₂，CuO _x和其他ZrO ₂：CuO _x相比，发现ZrO ₂：CuO _{x（180，24）}可以转换甲烷，其电流密度差异高达13.35 mA cm ^-2。。密度泛函理论计算表明，增强的活性源于增加的电荷分布的ZrO ₂的的ZrO后₂簇生长在Cu ₂ O（111），这增强CH的活性₄离解，并通过铜改善电子传导₂哦，支持。受益于这些优点，杂化物表现出高催化活性和稳定性。出人意料的是，在环境条件下运行18小时后，主要是1-丙醇和2-丙醇。