A fuel cell for the partial oxidation of cyclohexane and aromatics at ambient temperatures

Abstract

THE great interest in the catalytic partial oxidation of alkanes and aromatic hydrocarbons is motivated by a need to find new industrial routes for processing these hydrocarbons, available from natural fuels, selectively and in one step under mild conditions^1–5. Here we report the partial oxidation of saturated and aromatic hydrocarbons at the cathode of an O₂/H₂ fuel cell at ambient temperatures. With a cathode comprising a mixture of alkaline-earth or rare-earth metal chlorides and graphite, catalytic synthesis of cyclohexanol and cyclohexanone from cyclohexane was effected with 100% selectivity. Among the catalysts tested, SmCl₃/graphite was the most active. The same fuel-cell system is effective also for hydroxylation of benzene and toluene. The mechanism may involve generation of active oxygen on the cathode by the normal O₂/H₂ fuel-cell reaction.