Chem. Rev.

1995, 95, 987-1007

Aspects of Methane Chemistry

Robert H. Crabtree
Department of Chemistv, 225 Prospect Street, Yale Univetity, New Haven, ConnecticulO6511

Received June 29, 1994 (Revised Manuscript Received March 21, 1995)

Contents
I. Introduction 987
11. Occurrence, Production, and Origin 987
A. Natural Gas 987
B. Methane Hydrate 988
Ill. Physical Properlies, Structure, and Bonding and 989
Their Influence on Reactivity
IV. Chemical Reactivity of Methane 989
A. Early Alkane Conversion Reactions 989
B. High-Temperature Methane Conversion 990
C. Commercial Applications of Methane 991
Conversion
D. u-Complexes 991
E. u-Bond Metathesis 992 Born in London in 1948, Robed Crabtree was educated at Oxlord, worked
F. Electrophilic and Superacid Reactions 993 from 1973 for the Centre Nationale de la Recherche Scientifique at Gif,
G. Shilov Chemistry and Related Systems 995 near Paris, and moved to Yale in 1977, where he is now a Professor of
H. Oxidative Addition Chemistry. He started his work on alkane functionalization on firstmoving
997 to the United States,and has been involved in catalytic alkane conversion
I. Hydrogen Atom Abstraction and Radical 999 by oxidative addition, radical, and most recently, electrophilic routes. He
Pathways has also worked in the areas of hydride chemistry, the complexation of
J. Metal and Metal Oxide Surfaces 1000 o-bonds to metals, hydrogen bonding, and the development of metal
K. Electrochemistry 1001 complexes as catalysts for enzyme reactions. He is author of an
organometallic chemistry text and has awards in the area from the
L. Reactions in the Gas Phase and in Plasma 1001 American Chemical Society and Royal Society of Chemistry.
M. Radiation Chemistry 1001
N. Chemical Aspects of Methanogenesis 1001 Earlier reviews of different aspects of alkane
0. Chemical Aspects of Methane 1002 activation2in general are cited below and duplication
Monooxygenase is avoided here.
P. Steric and Shape Selectivity Effects 1004
V. Conclusion 1004 11, Occurrence, Production, and Origin
VI. Acknowledgments 1004
VII. References 1004
A. Natural Gas
“Dry”natural gas, largely methane (Table I), is a
growing factor in world primary energy production,
1. Introduction accounting for 18.4%in 1980 and 21.5% in 1991 (heat
As the simplest hydride of carbon and the major content basis). World production (Table 2) is cur-
constituent of natural gas, methane has attracted rently rising a t 2% per year and reserves (Table 3)
increased attention in recent years. An important constitute >60years of current production versus 44
factor has been the recognition of the significance of years for crude oil! In the US, natural gas supplies
world natural gas reserves to energy and chemicals 24.7% of energy consumption (1991). In addition to
production in the 21st century.l This expectation is dry gas, gas can also be found with petroleum
linked to the gradual depletion of oil reserves and to (“associated gas”) in which case it often contains CZ-
the possible influence of any greenhouse global Cd hydrocarbons; this heavy fraction is known as
warming effect on energy policy. The combustion of LPG, liquid petroleum gas. This gas was once flared
fossil fuel has caused a rise in the COZlevel in the a t the well head but increasingly it is reinjected or
atmosphere from an estimated preindustrial level of recovered for use.
280 ppm to the current 360 ppm. If current climate Natural gas reserves are currently estimated a t 1.4
models are correct, this may cause a global warming x 10” m3 or 4900 TCF (trillion cubic feet). Much of
trend in the next few decades. If public resistance it is nonassociated gas in remote locations where
t o nuclear energy remains strong, natural gas is transport to the market poses problems. The largest
likely to become a more important energy source. The reserves are found in the ex-USSR and the Middle
low C:H ratio of CH4 means that on combustion it East, but substantial reserves are present elsewhere?
can furnish a much larger amount of energy per COz Methane can also be released from subsurface rocks
molecule released than can oil (approximate ratio, and landfills, in which case it can cause mine and
CH2) or coal (approximate ratio, CH). other underground explosions?
0009-2665/95/0795-0987$15.50/00 1995 American Chemical Society
988 Chemical Reviews, 1995, Vol. 95, No. 4 Crabtree

Table 1. Typical Composition of Natural Gas (% vol) Origin of Natural Gas

Gas Hz CO CH4 CzHfi CIHR C ~ H I OCOZ Nz It used to be thought that natural gas originates
West Sole 0 0 94.1 3.2 0.6 0.2 0.5 1.2 along with petroleum from the pyrolysis of sedimen-
Hewitt 0 0 81.8 6.0 2.5 0.4 0.1 9.0 tary organic matter, such as kerogen, and that the
AlgerianLNG 0 0 87.7 8.6 2.3 0.9 0 0.4 temperature determined the oil-to-gas ratio in the
Lacq“ 0 0 82.1 3.3 1.0 0.7 11.6 0.2
Eurofiskb 0 0 85.2 8.6 2.9 0.9 1.7 0.5 products: the higher the temperature, the more
Coal GasC 51.0 14.6 19.1 1.7 0 0 3.6 6.0 methane that was formedesa The discovery of petro-
leum deposits lying deeper than would have been
a France. Norway. For comparison. expected on the basis of this idea,8btogether with the
failure of pyrolysis experiments to yield a gas fraction
Table 2. Production of Natural Gas in 1990” with a sufficiently high methane content,8chas cast
production % of production % of doubt on this picture, and a range of alternate ideas
country ( x IO9 m3) total countrv ( x io9 m3) total are now under discussion,8bwithout any clear con-
~~

USSR 844.8 33.6 Mexico 37-7 1.5 sensus having yet emerged. It is likely that different
Algeria 126.6 5 Norway 37.0 1.5 types of kerogen deposits may give rise to substan-
Netherlands 72.4 2.9 Romania 29.5 1.2 tially different ratios of gas to oil, independent of the
Indonesia 58.7 2.3 Nigeria 27.7 1.1
thermal history of the deposit.
UK 57.7 2.3 Argentina 23.1 0.9
Saudi Arabia 49.3 2 Australia 20.7 0.8 At least some of the methane in natural gas
Iran 46.3 2 Abu-Dhabi 19.8 0.8 deposits is likely to be of biological origin and
Venezuela 40.5 1.6 Malaysia 18.8 0.8 thermophilic methanogenic bacteria (see section N.N)
a Source: US Department of Energy, International Energy have been suggested as a possible source.8d MangoBe
Annual, 1990. suggested that the hydrogen and a-olefins formed by
kerogen pyrolysis might react with transition metal
Table 3. World Proven Reserves by Region for 1988” catalysis to yield methane. This idea has been
reserves %of reserves %of
supported by hissf experimental demonstration that
region ( x lo9 m3) total region ( x io9 m3) total an Eocene carbonaceous (C analysis, 14%)rock from
the Monterey Formation (CA) converts hydrogen and
North America 7994 7.2 Africa 7337 6.6
Latin America 7090 6.3 Middle East 31235 28.0 a-olefins at 190 “C over 1 year into a gas fraction
Western Europe 5512 4.9 Asia 7694 6.9 indistinguishable in molecular and isotopic composi-
Eastern Europe 42396 40.0 Japan & 2420 2.2 tion from typical natural gas. The rock contains both
& USSR Oceania Ni (350 ppm) and V (560 ppm), and these are
a Source: Cedigaz, Le Gaz Nature1 duns le Monde en 1988. suggested as the most probable catalysts. Recent
reviews are available.*g CH4 is a significant “green-
house effect” gas.Bh
As a permanent gas, methane cannot be liquefied
by pressure alone, but refrigeration is possible and B. Methane Hydrate
liquified natural gas (LNG) has been transported by Methane forms two hydratesg that are clathrate
ship since 1959. Today about 4% of world energy complexes in which the methane is trapped as a guest
demand is supplied by LNG; Japan (69%) and in an ice-like lattice as host and the water molecules
Western Europe (25%) are the chief importers and are held together by H-bonds. The largest void is
Indonesia (41%) and Algeria (25%) the chief LNG formed by a pentagonal dodecahedron (512polyhe-
exporters. Indeed, Exxon and the Indonesian oil dron) consisting of a cage of 20 hydrogen-bonded
company Pertamina have recently signed an agree- water molecules. Hydrates tend to form at temper-
ment to develop Natuna Field, a huge Indonesian atures below 300 K and gas pressures above 5 kPa.
offshore natural gas deposit. A $40 million invest- Idealized formulae for the two forms are {CH4}9*-
ment is anticipated, including an LNG plant and {H20}46 and (CH4}24*{H20}136, but real samples are
marine terminal which are t o be built on Natuna nonstoichiometric. Formation of the hydrate can be
Island to allow gas delivery to East Asian markets. a significant problem when natural gas is pumped
Other than LNG transport, pipelines can be used in undersea pipelines. It is believed that substantial
for gas distribution, but compression to ca. 80 bars quantities of methane may be trapped as natural gas
is required. In contrast with oil, where the cost of hydrates in marine sediments and, in cold climates,
transport is a minor factor, the costs of gas transport in subsurface deposits.1° Methane hydrate has been
are high so most gas is consumed in the region of its detected, for example, under the Black Sea at 2000
production.6 Transport would be facilitated if it were m.ll In such deposits methane can be the almost
possible to transform gaseous methane into a liquid exclusive hydrocarbon present; in such a case, ethane
fuel that would not need refrigeration or compression; and higher alkanes are usually present only at the
hence the current interest in methane conversion. Of ppm level. The isotope compositions suggest that
world production, about a one-quarter of it goes into much of this marine methane hydrate may be derived
each of the following uses: power generation, resi- from biological methanogenesis, discussed in section
dential and commercial use, industrial use; and IV.0, rather than from other sources.12
miscellaneous other uses. Arctic islands have significant deposits of methane
“Sweetening”or removal of sulfur compounds such hydrate, and these deposits have been considered as
as HzS, MeSH, and COS is usually necessary before a potential fuel source. Methane being a greenhouse
distribution to the user.7 Methane also occurs natu- gas, concern has been expressed that any global
rally as a hydrate, as discussed in the next section. warming might melt some of the hydrate and release
Aspects of Methane Chemistry Chemical Reviews, 1995, Vol. 95, No. 4 989
Table 4. Some Physical Properties of Methane Table 5. Thermodynamics of Some Methane
Reactions"
property value ref
-182.6 "C a A P (kcaVmo1)
mP
bP -161.6 "C a reaction 400K 1OOOK
density (at bp) 0.4240 a
critical temperature -82 "C a 18.9 9.5
critical pressure 45.8 atm a 8.6 8.5
2CH; + 02--C2H;+
first ionization potential
second ionization potential
13.16 eV
19.42 eV
C
C
-
2CH4 + 0 2 C2Hs + HzO
CH4 + Cl2 CHsCl+ HC1
2H20 -34.6
-18.4
-36.4
-14.5
viscosity (gas, 35 "C)
first BDE
1.12 x g cm-l ssl
105.1(2) kcal/mol
d
e - +
CHI + Brz CHaBr + HBr
-+

CHI + Iz CH3I HI
-26.0
-8.4
-27.8
-10.3
proton affinity
pK, (estd)
130.5(fl) kcaymol
ca. 40
g
g
--
CH4 + VzOz CH30H
4

CHI + 0 2 CH2O + H2O

12.5
-25.4
9.0
-18.0
AH"f - 17.889 kcal/mol
Structure
h + --
CH4 S CH3SH
CH4 + CO CH3CHO
-69.0
-6.4
16.0
-71.2
-7.8
33.6
CH4 + C02 CH3COOH
- -
C-H bond length (e diff) 1.1068(10) b 19.2 35.5
CHI + CO + '/202 CH3COOH
-+

H-H distance 1.8118(70)A b -40.0 -10.0

Spectroscopy CH4 + H2O CO + 3Hz 28.6 -6.5
(2-13NMR shift -2.3 ppm f a Data are from ref 15.
J(C-H) 125 Hz f
vibrational frequenciesg 1306: 1534k i
2917, 3020k cm-' that it is normally the least reactive alkane in
a Coffey, S., Ed. Rodd$ Chemistry of Carbon Compounds; reactions that involve H atom abstraction by a radical
Elsevier: New York, 1964; p 367, et seq. * Bartell, L. S.; reagent. Methyl cation is one of the least stable
Kuchitsu, K.; de Neui, R. J . Chem. Phys. 1961, 35, 1211. carbenium ions, so methane is also the least reactive
Frost, J.; McDowell, P. Proc. Roy. SOC.A 1957, 241, 194. alkane in reactions involving hydride abstraction by
Lambert, J. Proc. Roy. SOC.A 1955, 231, 280. e Cohen, N.;
Benson, S. W. In The Chemistry ofAlkanes and Cycloalkanes; an electrophile. Alkyl substitution stabilizes both
Patai, S., Rappoport, Z., Eds.; Wiley: New York, 1992; Chapter C-radicals and carbenium ions, so in both radical and
6. f Berger, S. In The Chemistry ofAlkanes and Cycloalkanes; electrophilic reactions, the reactivity of different
Patai, S., Rappoport, Z., Eds.; Wiley: New York, 1992; Chapter types of C-H bonds is tertiary > secondary =.
7.8 Hopkinson, A. C. In The Chemistry of Alkanes and Cy- primary > CH4. CH4 also has a very high ionization
cloalkanes; Patai, S., Rappoport, Z., Eds.; Wiley: New York,
1992; Chapter 11. Rossini, F. D. Selected Values of Chemical potential, so it is very unreactive in electron transfer
Thermodynamic Properties; US Department of Commerce: reactions. Only if steric hindrance plays a decisive
Washington, DC, 1952. ' Schrader, B. Raman and I R Atlas of role, as it appears to do in some cases of oxidative
Organic Compounds; VCH: Weiheim, 1989. Relative t o TMS
J
addition (section IV.E), can methane be the most
as internal standard. Active in IR spectrum.
reactive alkane. A sufficiently hindered reagent
should in general be selective for reaction with
large amounts of the gas into the atmosphere, which methane.
would give rise to positive feedback by encouraging Kinetic and thermodynamic factors in alkane ac-
further warming. A number of recent papers have tivation, including a comparisonlgbwith H2 and XH
examined the kinetics of hydrate f0rmati0n.l~Com- bonds (X * C), are discussed in detail in earlier
putational work has shown that a solvent-separated J ~ ~ hydrogen has a bond dissocia-
r e v i e ~ s . ~Although
methane pair and a contact methane pair are both tion energy essentially the same as that of methane,
stable configurations in the system CH4-H20.14 it is very much more reactive. This is usually
ascribed to the nondirectional character of hydrogen
Ill. Physical Properties, Structure, and Bonding 1s orbitals, which allows them to form strong partial
and Their Influence on Reactivity bonds to the reagent in the transition state for a
reaction. In contrast, the sp3bonding orbital of a CH3
The chief physical properties of methane are re- group is directed and so is less well-adapted to
ported in Table 4. Exhaustive listings of thermody- forming bonds in a transition state, so barriers t o
namic properties are a~ai1able.l~ Table 5 gives AGO reaction are higher. Alkane C-C bonds, having two
values for some common methane reactions,16and the directed sp3bonding orbitals, are even less reactive.
thermochemistry of hydrocarbon activation has been
reviewed in detail.17
Methane has a tetrahedral geometry with four IV. Chemical Reactivity of Methane
equivalent C-H bonds (see Table 21, as expected from
the sp3 hybridization of carbon. The molecular A. Early Alkane Conversion Reactions
orbital description of CH4 involves a It2 triply de-
generate HOMO formed from the combination of the The earliest application of transition metal com-
three p orbitals of carbon with pairs of H(1s) orbitals, pounds to alkane chemistry was an 1881 study by
together with a totally symmetric la1 orbital formed Etard on the reaction of CrO2Cl2 with cyclohexane.20
from a combination of C(2s) and the four H(1s) In 1898, Fenton21 reported the Fe2+/H202hydroxy-
orbitals.18 Many high-level quantum calculations lation system that bears his name (Fenton reagent).
have been performed on methane,lga and alkane The latter still attracts interest in connection with
activation,lgbincluding the theoretical aspects,1gchas continuing discussions about the mechanism of bio-
been reviewed. chemical C-H oxidation (section IV.0). Apart from
Compared with other alkanes, methane has an these rare cases, alkanes have generally been con-
unusually high C-H bond strength, which means sidered to be among the most difficult substrates for
990 Chemical Reviews, 1995, Vol. 95, No. 4 Crabtree

selective functionalization, and even today, very few (iii) including oxygen in the mixture, which has been
synthetically useful reactions are known. achieved using a special burner in the Topsoe
Process.27aA recent contribution combines strategies
B. High-Temperature Methane Conversion i and iii by using a 1%Ir/&o3 catalyst to convert a
Methane is very stable and only begins to decom- C02-02-CH4 mixture at 1050 K, which gives a 90%
pose into the elements at 785 0C.22Above 1250 "C, selectivity for s y n g a ~ Catalytic
. ~ ~ ~ partial oxidation
acetylene is formed and does not decompose if the of methane to synthesis gas takes place at 700 "C
gas mixture is rapidly quenched. Huls has operated over NiIAl203, Re/Al203, and related c a t a l y ~ t s . ~ ~ ~ - ~
such a process with electric arc heating,23in which In spite of the inherent inefficiency of oxidizing
the resulting acetylene can be oligomerized to aro- methane to the CO level in the reforming step only
matic compounds.24 Methane and steam at 1000- to reduce it again in the second step, these processes
1100 "C give acetylene, ethylene, and ethane.25 are still the only ones which are close to being
These processes have proved too energy intensive for economically viable27ffor wide application. The first
general application. generation of new methane conversion plants that
begin operation early in the next century are likely
Methane Oxidation via Syngas to employ these routes, but some workers in the field
generally believe that a direct process may well
For the reasons discussed above, methane conver- replace the syngas route in the longer term.
sion to a transportable liquid such as MeOH, Me20,
or hydrocarbons is of intense current interest. In Methane Oxidation via Direct Routes
either case, the classical route involves initial conver-
sion of methane to synthesis gas (H2 + CO, otherwise Direct conversion of methane to methanol (or any
known as "syngas"), which can subsequently be other useful product)28awould reduce the number of
converted t o methanol or to liquid hydrocarbons in a steps required and thus save greatly on capital costs
second step. The most important high-temperature in a commercial plant. For this reason, a large
reaction of methane is therefore "reforming" t o number of studies have been reported in the area of
synthesis gas, which is the only method in current direct conversion. For the moment, none has suc-
commercial use for the large scale synthesis of fuels ceeded in demonstrating the required combination
and chemicals from methane. Among the disadvan- of high conversion, yield, and catalyst stability that
tages of reforming are high capital costs, however.2sa would be required to make direct conversion competi-
Several variants are known, but the simplest is tive with the classical reforming route.
steam reforming, shown in eq 1. The resulting CO/ Simple pyrolysis of CH4 in air or oxygen does give
methanol, but the short survival time of methanol
in the system requires that conversion be kept low.
For example, Newitt and Haffner28bfound up to 22%
AH' = 49.3 kcal/mol selectivity for methanol at 1.6% conversion of meth-
ane at 380 "C and 100 atm. Better results can be
obtained in a flow system in which the products are
rapidly cooled.29 For example, Newitt and Szego30
saw MeOH (51%)and CH2O (4.1%)on heating CH4-
AH" = -21.7 kcaYmol 0 2 - N ~ (90:3:7) at 430 "C for 5 s, but conversion was
Fe catalyst, heat again low. Catalysts such as copper improve the re-
nCO(g) + (2n + 1)H,(g) action, which can give up to 51%MeOH at 3.7% con-
+ nH,O(g) (3)
CnH(2n+2) version.31 A more recent study of the effect of reac-
tant ratios, pressure, temperature, and flow rate has
AH" = ca. -50 kcaYmol given an optimum 81% selectivity for MeOH at 450
"C, 50 atm, and a CHd02 ratio of 20, but conversion
H2 mixtures are then converted either to methanol was still only 8%.26Recent improvements include the
with a zeolite catalyst or to higher paraffins by use of staged 0 2 injection along a membrane reac-
Fischer-Tropsch (FT) catalysts.26bThe latter process tor.32 The kinetics for the combustion of methane has
is long established: the first plant, built by Ruhrche- been examined in great From theoretical
mie in 1936, was producing 600000 tons of FT studies the activation energy for H abstraction from
products per year by 1944. From 1955 to the present, CH4 by 0 2 is believed t o be ca. 60 k ~ a l / m o l . ~ ~ ~
Sasol has operated FT plants in South Africa. The Combustion can be catalyzed; for example, silica
product normally follows the Schultz-Flory distribu- catalysts, which can also be doped with transition
tion and typically consists of linear paraffins in the metal, can give formaldehyde and methanol at 600
CS-C~O range. "C with good yields at low conversion.34aMoo3 can
C02 can partially or completely replace the steam also be used as a catalyst for conversion of methane-
in steam reforming and syngas is then produced with N20 to formaldehyde; 3.5%of MeOH + CH20 is seen
a lower HdCO ratio, which can be useful, but carbon at 5% conversion.34bEthylene has also been formed
deposition via CO disproportionation to C C02 often + with relatively good selectivity at 775 "C over Mg-
becomes a serious problem.27a Several strategies Li-Mo/AlzOs catalyst; ethane and C02 are byprod-
have been used to mitigate this problem: (i) operat- ucts; oxidative coupling is covered in section IV.J.34c
ing with a noble metal catalyst, which tends to show Methane is converted (0.5%)over FeP04 to MeOH
lower carbon-formation rates; (ii) using partly S- (26%) and HCHO (46%) by HdO2 at 673-723 K.34d
poisoned Ni, the basis of the SPARG process;27band Methane also reacts with an oxygen-ammonia mix-
Aspects of Methane Chemistry Chemical Reviews, 1995, Vol. 95, No. 4 991

ture at 800-1100 "C to give HCN; Pt catalysts syngas, together with Sasol's own Fischer-Tropsch
improve the rate.35 Cyanogen reacts at 700 "C to give process to convert the syngas to fuel hydrocarbon^.^^
HCN and CH3CN: In Bintulu, Sarawak, Malaysia, Shell has com-

+ (CN), - CH,CN + HCN

mercialized its Middle Distillate Synthesis (SMDS)
CH, (4) in which the syngas is generated by partial methane
oxidation, followed by a Fischer-Tropsch synthesis
Methanekhlorine at very high temperatures (1500 of hydrocarbon^.^^" Exxon has announced its AGC-
"C) gives a mixture containing ethane, ethylene, H2, 21 process in which syngas is formed from natural
and HCl.36a Dehydrodimerization-aromatization has gas, oxygen, and steam. In this way the exothermic-
been reported on amorphous pyrolitic carbons ob- ity of partial oxidation is compensated by the endo-
tained from a number of organic precursors, includ- thermicity of the concurrent steam reforming path-
ing n-PrsP. For this case, at 1323 K, the methane way. A Fischer-Tropsch synthesis of relatively high
conversion was 41% and the selectivity for benzene molecular weight hydrocarbon wax is followed by a
was 56%.36b hydroisomerization step to produce a liquid hydro-
Diamond can be produced from methane-hydrogen carbon, which can be used as a feedstock in a
at 1900-2300 "C and 20-100 Torr by filament- conventional refinery. A small scale unit is operating
assisted chemical vapor deposition (FACVD); the at Baton Rouge, LA.39b In contrast to most petrolewn-
mechanisms involved are not well-understood.36c derived liquid fuels, these products are clear and
Unless a new concept is developed, the efficiency colorless liquids with a very slight but agreeable odor.
of the processes discussed in this section is unlikely Clearly, the syngas route is technically viable; the
to be greatly improved in the near future, so attention only issue at present is the economics of these
has turned to other areas. processes. This is largely determined by the crude
oil price which is probably currently too low ($18/
Methane Homologation on Heterogeneous Cataksts barrel) t o make any of the natural. gas-based pro-
In a new development that holds promise for cesses economically viable in other than special
possible future commercial applications, methane can situations.
be converted to C2 and higher hydrocarbons in a two- Of historical interest is the partial oxidation of
step process.37 In the first step, methane chemisorbs methane to formaldehyde with Oz/HN03 at 400 "C
on any of a number of supported metal catalysts at developed in Germany in the 1940s and once oper-
a temperature of around 700 K to give carbidic ated at Copsa Mica in Romania.16
carbon. In the second step, carried out at a much
lower temperature, this carbidic carbon is hydroge- D. a-Complexes
nated to give C2+ hydrocarbons. The two-step nature In a a-complex, a a-bond is bound to an electrophile
of the process is made necessary by the thermody- via a two-electron, three-center bond, as in the
namics, which indicate that the methane activation triangular species, H3+, formed from H2 and H+ in
step is only favorable at >600 K but carbide hydro- the gas phase. An important development was the
genation to give C2+ hydrocarbons is only favorable idea that carbonium ions, such as C2H7+, have
below 350 K.37a Three types of absorbed carbon are nonclassical bridged structures with two-electron,
recognized, carbidic (C,), amorphous (Cp), and gra- three-center bonds.40
phitic (Cy). The carbidic form is most desirable With the discovery of the H2 complex, [W(H-H)-
because it hydrogenates below 400 K to give C2+
hydrocarbons; the amorphous type only reacts around (C0)3(PC~H11)21 (l),by Kubas41 in 1984, the area of
a-bond c ~ m p l e x a t i o ngained
~ ~ prominence in transi-
500 K and gives only trace C2+ hydrocarbons; the tion metal chemistry. The bond between a Lewis
graphitic type reacts only above 650 K and gives only
base ligand and a Lewis acid metal ion consists of a
methane.37b Typical catalysts (Co/Al203, Co/C, Nil shared electron pair. Traditional ligands like am-
A l 2 0 3 ) resemble those useful for the related Fischer-
monia use their lone pair to bind t o a metal ion, but
Tropsch process (see below) and a similar mechanism
n-bonding ligands like H2C=CH2 have no lone pair
involving oligomerization of surface-bound CH, in- and must therefore use their n-bonding electrons,
termediates is proposed.37cIn the case of Pt, products which come to be shared between three centers in
up to c6 have been detected,37dand in the case of
single crystal ultrahigh vacuum work on Pt, C6H6 the complex; in the M(H2C=CH2) case, these are the
two carbons and the metal. Strong binding requires
was formed ~electively.~~" A three-step variant has
also been studied in which the carbide intermediates the presence of some back-donation, in this case from
the filled M(d,) into the empty C&(n*) orbital.
first react with added C2H4, C2H2, or C3H6, before
undergoing hydrogenation to c1-c5 products.37f In a-complexes, this idea is taken one step further.
Hz lacks both lone pairs and n-bonding electrons and
C. Commercial Applications of Methane must use its a-bonding electrons t o form a bond with
Conversion the metal. As before, this electron pair comes to be
shared between three centers in the complex, the two
Mobil commercialized a methane to gasoline pro- hydrogens and the metal. Back bonding is once again
cess in New Zealand in 1986. The process starts with required for stability, in this case from the filled
a reforming step to give HdCO, followed by catalytic M(d,) into the empty H2(a*) orbital. An important
conversion to methanol and then conversion to gaso- point is that back-donation has different effects in a
line range hydrocarbons on a zeolite catalyst. The a-complex than in a n-complex like M(HzC=CH2),
Mossgas plant run by Sasol at Mossel Bay in South where the two carbons are held together by a C-C
Africa uses Lurgi's CH4 reforming process to produce a-bond that is unaffected by binding. In a a-complex
992 Chemical Reviews, 1995, Vol. 95, No. 4 Crabtree

Table 6. Thermodynamics of Alkane Binding to

W(C0)S”
AGO IP(eV)of AGO IP(eV)of
alkane (kcavmol) HOMOb alkane (kcaumol) HOMOb
CH4 <5 14.33 n-C4Hlo 9.1(&2) 11.66 ESR data shows that the RhH2 fragment forms a
C2H6 7.4(%2) 12.35 c-C~HIO10.2(1.3) 11.01 complex with methane in an argon matrix at 4 K.47
C3H8 8.1(&2) 11.51 C-CsHlz 11.6(&3) 10.32 Isotope exchange evidence shows that even in solu-
a From ref 39b. The highest lying filled C-H o-orbital in tion at room temperature alkane complexes are
free alkane. stable enough to show WD exchange between alkyl
and hydride in a number of species of type L,M-
such as 1,the a-electrons are the only ones holding (CD3)H.48~49
the two H atoms together. Although the Hz(a) to Metal ions in the gas phase also form methane
M(d,) electron donation weakens but does not break complexes, such as [Fe(CHd,]+ (n = 1-4), for which
the H-H bond, the M(d,) to Hz(a*) back-donation, if collision-induced dissociation MS studies indicate the
sufficiently strong, can break the H-H bond to give following dissociation energies: first, 17.6(f1.5);
a dihydride, H-M-H, the oxidative addition product. second, 23.6W.4); third, 23.3(&1.0);fourth, 13.7-
The formation of a a-complex is therefore an initial (f0.8)kcal/mol; in a related study, [Co(CH4)]+was
stage of oxidative addition. Many a-complexes (in- shown to have a dissociation energy of 22.9 kcaumol.
cluding 141) are in equilibrium with their oxidative Ab initio theoretical studies suggest a [Co(y2-CH4>1+
addition products. Alternate ways of representing structure with a Co-H distance of 1.94 A. The [Co-
a-complexes are shown as 1’ and 1”. CHJ+ bond strength is a result of ion polarization of
the CH4 and donation of electron density from the
L,M + X-Y = L,M /x (5) C-H(a) to the Co+, but Co+ to C-H(a*) back-
Y‘
donation is negligablee50
(L, = ligand set; X, Y = H, halogen, alkyl ...) The formation of C-H. *M a-complexes has also
been seen in many theoretical studies on the interac-
tion of methane and other light alkanes with metal
atoms or ions.51 Theoretical studies (MCPF) on the
oxidative addition of methane to the second row bare
metal (=M) atoms from Y to Pd and their MH,
...’;’ H hydrido metal fragments have shown that the reac-
(C0)3(PR3)2W*’...i (COMPR~)ZW-<:~ tion is exothermic in many cases (e.g., Y, Zr, Nb, Rh).
When the atomic electron configuration and the
1’ 1”
product electron configuration are different, the
Alkane Complexes resulting promotion energy term was found both t o
raise the barrier and to make the reaction less
Although many H2 a-complexeshave been detected, exothermic (or more endothermic). The transition
a similar series of stable, isolable species has so far states identified showed considerable structural dif-
not been reported for methane of the other alkanes. ferences, depending on the metal. The reaction with
The key differences may be the lack of full avail- H2 is always more exothermic (or less endothermic)
ability of the carbon lobe of the C-H a* for back- as a result of M-H bonds being stronger than
donation, as a result of the steric inhibition of strict M-CH3 bonds.52
side-on binding, possible for Ha but not for CH4, and Silane Si-H bonds are much better ligands than
the lower basicity of the C-H a-bond as a result of alkane C-H bonds and numerous examples53aof (y2-
the higher electronegativity of C versus H. a-Com- R3Si-H) coordination have been observed, even, most
plexes of alkanes have been proposed from kinetic recently, for the case of SiH4 itself.53b
studies, however.43
The photogenerated {M(CO)5}(M = Cr, Mo, W) Agostic Complexes
fragment has long been known to complex alkanes Although methane itself does not bind strongly
in matrix.44 Unexpectedly, the measured M-alkane
bond strengths (Table 6)45increase with the size of enough to transition metal fragments for complexes
the alkane. As they correlate quite well with the IP to be isolable, there are a large number of stable
of the alkane C-H bond, it was suggested that the C-H-*.M adducts in which a C-H bond of a ligand
M-alkane bond strength simply depends on the binds to the metal. These “agostic” compound^^^^^^^
basicity of the alkane. A a-complex has been detected help us learn something about the properties of
in the reaction of CH4 with Co atoms in a solid argon methane a-complexes, which are the presumed in-
matrix. Of the possible structures, the IR data termediates in a variety of reactions. An important
definitely indicate a CsU symmetry, but the y4- result of agostic binding is that the C-H bond
structure shown below was preferred over the alter- becomes a very much better proton acid than in the
native y2-structure[By an y”-structure, we mean that free state. Loss of a proton to yield the isolable metal
n - 1 hydrogens are bound to the metal]. An alkyl has been established most clearly for an agostic
additional argument in favor of the y4-assignmentis complex of C O ( I I I ) . ~ ~
that a CzUq2-structure would have to have a linear
C-H- *Mgroup, inconsistent with the usual side-on E. a-Bond Metathesis
arrangement favored by the bonding model described a-Bond metathesis is the process shown below (eq
above.46 71, in which an M-X bond is cleaved by a Y-H bond,
Aspects of Methane Chemistry Chemical Reviews, 1995, Vol. 95, No. 4 993

where X and Y are monovalent fragments such as Ethane reacts more slowly and cyclohexane fails
R3C, R&i, and H. This pathway can normally only to react at all, so it can be used as a solvent. CD4
be unambiguously distinguished from the alternative gives the expected C~*ZT~CD~(CHZCM~ZCHZD) prod-
oxidative additiodreductive elimination route (eq 8) uct with a kH/kD of 6 f 2 at 60 "C. Thermochemical
in the case of a do system where oxidative addition work shows that metal-alkyl bond strengths in these
is forbidden, but it may also be possible in d" systems systems are 70-80 kcawmol, somewhat larger than
(n * 0) as well. An L"MX(CH4) a-complex is a found in the later d block.61 Catalytic addition of
plausible intermediate in eq 9 because such binding methane across the ethylene double bond to give
makes the bound proton acidic and therefore more propane is catalyzed by Ti(Ot-Bu)dAlEta; 15%yield
likely t o be transferred to any anionic cis X group. based on ethylene was reported.62 Grigorjan also
Theoretical studies of the reaction by density func- observed catalytic methane addition across the eth-
tional theory (DFT) find this type of intermediate ylene double bond, catalyzed by Ti(Ot-Bu)dAlEts,and
adduct.55 There is also theoretical evidence that the the acetylene triple bond, catalyzed by Fe, Ni, and
reaction trajectory for oxidative addition and a-bond Pt complexes, to give propane and propene, respec-
metathesis are quite similar up to the transition state tively, in modest yields.62
but tend to deviate thereafter.56 In oxidative addition Bercaw et al. find HID exchange between CH4 and
it is back-donation of the M(d,) electrons into C-H Dz, catalyzed by [Cp*zScH],. Cp*zScMe also reacts
(a*)that cleaves the C-H bond. In a do system there with 13CH4by a bimolecular pathway.63
are no M(d,) electrons and so only the M-X bonding
electrons are left to cleave the C-H bond. Addition across M=N Bond
The reaction of CpzSc-H with methane to give Cpz- In an unusual variant that may be best described
Sc-Me and Hz has been shown computationally as a 1,2-addition across a Zr=N bond, the transient
(HFS-LCAO, A-MOL) to have an endothermicity of zirconium imido intermediate of e q l l , reacts with
42 kJ/mol, largely because the Sc-H bond is 45 kJ/
mol stronger than the Sc-CH3 bond. In the early heat, -CD,H
stages of the reaction, an v2-methane a-complex is [{t-Bu,SiNH},Zr(CD,)NHSi(t-Bu),] c

formed which has a binding energy of 25 kJ/m01.~'~

Reactions of alkanes with complexes of lanthanides [{t-Bu,SiNH},Zr=NSi(t-Bu),] -CH4

and actinides5%and of early transition metals57chave [{~-BU,S~NH}~Z~(CH,)NHS~(~-BU),]

(11)
been reviewed.
methane as shown. Cyclohexane is an inert solvent,
Y presumably for steric reasons, and Ta gives similar
Y-H YH chemistry.64
Late Metal Chemistry
In a rare example of a a-bond metathesis route
being proposed for a late metal [Cp*Ir-
(PMe3)(CH3)(0Tf)]reacts at 45 "C with a variety of
hydrocarbons, RH, including 13CH4,to give Cp*IrL-
(R)OTfand C&. A a-bond metathesis route is indeed
very likely, although an Ir(V) intermediate cannot be
As early as 1975, Grigorjan et found- WD completely eliminated in view of the stability of such
isotope exchange between CD4 (0.3-4 atm) and species as IrHsLz.
Ziegler-Natta catalysts of the type CpzTiCldAlMez- Functionalization of the resulting M-Me group has
C1 at 20-50 "C and between CH4 and D2 catalyzed yet to be achieved in these systems, which are also
by CpzV at 70". An alternative mechanism was often air and water sensitive, at least in the early
proposed, however, because a-bond metathesis was metal cases.
not recognized at that time.
In 1983, Watson59showed that isotopically labeled F. Electrophilic and Superacid Reactions
methane could exchange with a methyl group in Cp*z-
LuCH3 and, faster, with Cp*zYCH3 (Cp* = v5-C5Me5). The recent award of the Nobel Prize to G. A.
Part of the reaction goes via direct reaction of the Olah66-75emphasizes the importance of reactions of
Y-CH3 bond with CHI and part via initial cyclomet- alkanes with electrophiles and superacids, which are
alation of the Cp* group. not only themselves interesting but also have great
commercial significance. Sufficiently strong Lewis
Cp*,LuCH, + 13CH, = C~*,LU'~CH,+ CH, (9)
and Bronsted acids can both protonate alkanes, but
only in the absence of basic solvents, which otherwise
level the acidity t o that of the protonated solvent,
Marks et al. showed ring opening of a thorium hence the importance of non-nucleophilic solvents in
complex in a similar type of reaction,60 which is this area. Alkane C-H and C-C bonds can both act
assisted by release of the ring strain energy of the as electron donors t o the proton to give carbocations,
metallacycle. of which CH5+is the ~ a r e n t . The~ ~ relative
~ , ~ rates
of attack follow the C-H bond basicity order: tertiary
C-H > secondary C-H > primary C-H > CH4.
Protonation of higher alkanes gives rise to carbe-
nium ions and can hence cause skeletal rearrange-
994 Chemical Reviews, 1995, Vol. 95, No. 4 Crabtree

ments of linear to branched often more which is protected from further oxidation by conver-
useful in fuel applications. Modern versions of this sion to the protonated form, MeOH2+,in the super-
reaction are practiced commercially on a very large acid medium. Product protection is an important
scale in petroleum refining. Applications of electro- issue in alkane reactions in general; otherwise over-
philic activation to methane conversion have been oxidation is the usual result. Ozone gives formalde-
discussed by Olah.67a Initial protonation gives a hyde as the predominant product in a superacid
species such as CH5+,for which two of the three most medium.74
stable minima on the potential energy surface have Halogenation is also possible in superacids: chlo-
one close H***Hdistance and can be considered as rine shows high (80-98%) selectivity for CH3C1 at
different rotamers of an H2 complex of the methyl conversions of 7-34%, in contrast to the low selectiv-
cation, although the molecule is so fluxional that it ity seen for the usual radical reactions involving Cl2.
has been considered as not having a definite struc- In the superacid medium, the formation of [MeClMe]+
t ~ r e . WD
~ ~ exchange
~ , ~ to give deuterated alkanes protects the product and prevents overoxidation; Ptl
is the simplest subsequent reaction.68 In the pres- A1203 and zeolites are also effective catalysts for this
ence of alkenes, alkylation is o b ~ e r v e dwith
~ ~ , su-
~~
peracids such as TaF5 or SbFdgraphite, as for ex- reaction.75 With 20% SbOF3 on Al203,99%selectivity
ample in eq 12, which is thought to occur via the for MeBr formation was observed at 20% conversion
steps shown in eqs 13 and 14. in methane b r ~ m i n a t i o n .Subsequent
~~ hydrolysis67a
of the methyl halide is required if MeOH is the
CH,=CH, + 13CH4-
H+
CH,CH,13CH, (12) desired product, followed by reoxidation of the hy-
drogen halide back to the elemental halogen to make
CH,=CH, -H+
CH3CH,+ (13)
the system catalytic. A combined halogenation-
hydrolysis-reoxidation process using Brz/H20/02 has

CH3CH2+ 13CH4 + - -H+

CH,CH,13CH3 (14)
been described, but conversion is modest.67a Re-
cently, N2F+ and NF4+ have been shown to be F+
equivalents capable of selective fluorination of meth-
It is difficult to avoid oligocondensation of the ane to CH3F. In HF or pyridine/HF at 20 "C, N2F+
alkene in these reactions, but a 60% selectivity for gives predominantly CH3F and NF4+ gives exclusively
C3 products was seen with HF/TaF5.72 More recently, CH3F. F+ attack on a C-H bond is proposed and
13CH4has been shown to give propane which is 96% calculations suggest that the proposed intermediate
monolabeled with 13C for S b F d g ~ a p h i t e . ~ ~ ~ CH4F+ may have a structure analogous to an HF
Condensation of methane to give ethane and H2 is complex of CH3+.67d
endothermic at room temperature and pressure; for
example eq 15 is endothermic by 16 kcallmol. Con- Cold, fuming sulfuric acid reacts slowly with meth-
densation can still be achieved with superacids that ane to give methyl bisulfate,78and NO2BF4 in HS03F
are also mild oxidants; for example, at 50-60 "C, converts methane. to CH3N02.79aIn both cases over-
homologation of CH4 to C2-cS hydrocarbons can take oxidation is minimal as a result of the deactivating
place.67 In this case, the medium must also act as effect of the OS03H and NO2 groups in the product
oxidant (eq 18) to remove the Ha as HF.69 on the remaining C-H bonds. A mechanism has
2CH, - C,H, + H, (15)
been proposed involving the formation of a o-complex
between the alkane C-H bond and the protonated
form of NO2, NOzH+, which has been called a
AH = +16 kcal/mol "superele~trophile".~~~ Calculations by Schreiner,
The probable overall mechanism is: Schleyer, and Schaefer on NO+ + CH4, however,
+ HF + SbF, - [CH&SbF,I
suggest that NO+ directly attacks the carbon to give
CH, (16) CH4NO+, which can be regarded as a methylene
group complexing an H2 and NO+.
[CH,I[SbF,I --%
[CH,I[SbF6I -
CH,

[C&I[SbF,I (17) Solid Superacids

H, + SbF, - 2HF + SbF, (18) In recent years, acidic solid state materials have
tended to replace simple acids as reagents. Zeolites
Deliberate addition of oxidants such as 0 2 , S,, or are the most common such materials, and USY and
Se in superacid media also leads to h o m o l ~ g a t i o n . ~ ~ ZSM-5 have been used in catalytic cracking, ZSM-5
A heterogeneous version of this reaction is known on has also been used in arene alkylation, and Y-zeolite,
acid zeolites.70 Oxidative oligomerization of CH4 to erionite and mordenite have been used in hydro-
an oil (MW = ca. 700) was found with HS03F/SbF571a cracking. The advantages are very high thermal
and to c2-C~ hydrocarbons is also known on Zn- stability and high internal surface area. Variation
ZSM5 zeolite.71b Zeolites are useful in this area of the pore size can also lead to control of reactant
because they are heat-stable acids and the cavity size and product selectivities by molecular sieving effects.
of the internal pore structure limits the amount of The acid form of the zeolite is oRen formed by cation
oligomerization that can take place. exchange with an ammonium salt followed by pyro-
lytic expulsion of the amine or amine fragments,
Functionalization Pathways leaving the proton trapped within the zeolite cavi-
Other oxidants lead to the formation of oxygenated ties.80 Fluorinated resins such as Nafion can be
products. For example,73H202 gives methyl alcohol, useful solid acids in this context.79d
Aspects of Methane Chemistry Chemical Reviews, 1995, Vol. 95, No. 4 995

G. Shilov Chemistry and Related Systems

Methane is an extremely poor acid, so it loses a
proton only with difficulty. By analogy with the very
large acidification that can be achieved when H2

-
binds to metal ions in the form of an Hz complex, if
the electrophile forms a a-bond complex with meth-
ane, the proton acidity of the methane should be Pt"-/ CH2D -m CHc,D, (23)
H
greatly enhanced (section IV.D). We commonly find
soft electrophiles (Pt(II), Hg(I1)) involved in such
reactions probably because (a) they bind methane
transiently even in aqueous solution, hence we can
have superacid catalysis in a conventional acid Pt=CHz, but with our improved understanding of
medium, and (b) they can hold the product CH3- a-complexation, the intermediacy of a methane com-
group in the form of an alkyl. plex now gives a plausible alternative pathway.
Consensus has not yet been reached on the mecha- In the presence of Pt(IV) as oxidant, methane can
nistic aspects; however, Shilovlgbdoes not consider be converted to MeOH and MeCl; Pt(I1) is still
that the Pt(I1) system has predominant electrophilic required as catalyst. This result is most easily
character and prefers a pathway in which the C-H explained if the Pt(I1) alkyl is oxidized to the Pt(IV)
bond oxidatively adds to the metal with concerted loss alkyl by added Pt(IV). This is followed by nucleo-
of a proton.s1 This is less likely for Hg(II), where a philic attack by C1- or OAc-, which can lead to
Hg(IV) transient would be required. functionalization of the alkyl group to give CH& the
Pt(IV) being reduced to Pt(I1) in the process. The
similarity of the relative rates and the selectivity
patterns for the WD exchange and the oxidation
reactions found for higher alkanes is consistent with
both reactions going through the same initial Pt(I1)
Once the alkyl has formed, it may be cleaved with Pt(I1) halo and aqua species are in equilib-
protons, in which case we can have WD exchange. rium in aqueous PtC1d2- and the rate dependence
More interestingly, it can also undergo nucleophilic with chloride concentration suggests that species
attack by C1- or H2O with reduction of the metal to such as [PtC12(OH2)21have the highest activity.
give a functionalized CH3X derivative. In catalytic In one case an intermediate Pt-Me complex was
systems, a metal reoxidation step is required, which detected by NMR in the reaction of HzPtCls with CH4
may precede or follow the nucleophilic attack step. (100 atm) at 120 "C; addition of PPh3 allowed
isolation of PtMeC1(PPh3)2.84 In more recent work
M~-CH, -Nu- M(N-2) +CH,Nu (21) on the Pt(II)/Pt(IV) system, Labinger and
found 60% selectivity for MeOH at 5% conversion.
(e.g., MN = H$', PIv; Nu- = C1, H20,HSO,-) Analysis of the data85asuggests that methane was 6
times more reactive than methanol, in contrast to the
The overall process is loss of one proton and two situation for most oxidants. Recent work on Pt(I1)
electrons from CH4 t o give the methyl cation, which by Sens7 also shows that methane is less reactive
is trapped by the nucleophile. It is likely that than methanol.
different mechanisms are possible in which the order A particularly notable feature of the Shilov system
of events differs. Two or more of these steps may is the use of aqueous acetic acid as solvent. An
also be concerted. aqueous solvent is not tolerated by the superacid
systems described above. This implies that the Pt-
Platinum Chemistry (11) acts as a selective superacid toward the alkane
In very important work since the 1970s, Shilov and but not toward the water. That is, the pKa of water
co-workerssl have found that alkanes including meth- is little affected by lone pair binding to Pt(I1) com-
ane can undergo both WD exhange and functional- pared with the large reduction of PKa when alkane
ization with a number of transition metal electro- binds as a a-complex. The surprise is that alkane
philes, of which Pt(II)CL2- was the most intensively binds strongly enough to be competitive with water.
studied. For example, KzPtC14 in D2O/CH3COOW Hence the importance of having a soft electrophile.
DC104 gave deuterated methane at 100-120". A Taft The system uses robust ligands and only loses activ-
correlation using substituted alkanes gives a 0 value ity if metallic Pt is precipitated.
of -1.4 for the reaction, consistent with Pt(I1) having The functionalization of the newly formed M-CH3
some electrophilic character.82 bond is a challenging step. The key feature of the
The reactions probably go via eqs 22-24, in which Shilov system which allows this t o happen is the
deprotonation of a a-complex leads to an alkylplati- presence of a redox-active Pt. The oxidation of Pt-
num (11) species. It is that a-complexation (II)-CH3 to Pt(IV)-CH3 allows the functionalization
causes a very large acidification of the coordinated step to occur via nucleophilic attack on the methyl
a-bond, explaining the facile proton loss from this group with reduction of Pt(IV) to Pt(I1).
intermediate. If this reacts with D+, the result is Significant recent mechanistic work on the Pt(II)/
deuteration of the alkane. Multiple WD exchanges Pt(IV) system has been reported by Labinger and
occur without dissociation of methane, which was Bercaw et alas5using both CH4 itself and water-
originally explained on the basis of formation of soluble substrates (RH). Initial formation of PtII-R
996 Chemical Reviews, 1995, Vol. 95, No. 4 Crabtree

was proposed, although this step could not be studied oxidation, probably accompanied by concerted depro-
directly. Subsequent oxidation of Pt"-R to P P - R tonation of the resulting radical cation. The most
via electron transfer from the Pt(IV) oxidant was readily available summary of the results appears in
observed in a model system, [PtMe(HzO)(tmeda)]+. Shilov's book.s1 Kinetic isotope effects in the range
Evidence for nucleophilic attack of C1- on the Pt(IV) of k ~ / =k 1.9-5.2
~ show that C-H(D) bond breaking
alkyl was obtained from the stereochemical inversion is involved in the transition state. Taft e values from
observed at the a-carbon for erythro- and threo- -1.7 to -6.8 were found, together with tertiary >
[PtC15(CHDCHDOH)I2-. A key feature is the selec- secondary selectivity ratios for alkane C-H bonds of
tivity of the system for basic C-H bonds, so reaction 12-3000. The authors suggest that the proton-
with CHI is competitive with reaction with CH3X. coupled electron transfer pathway of eq 29 may be
This helps prevent overoxidation. Similarly, attack important (N represents the oxidation state of the
at the C& group of EtOH is preferred. This selectiv- oxidant).
ity is consistent with initial formation of a a-complex
because this is favored for basic C-H bonds. RH + L-MN= R' + HL' + MN-' (29)
Horvaths6has studied 13CH4chlorination with the
PtC1d2- system in D20 at 125 "C by high pressure Certain powerful one-electron oxidants, such as
NMR and has found that most of the chloro inter- S20s2- and Ce(IV), can oxidize methane to CH3-
mediates are hydrolyzed in situ to form MeOH, OS03H in sulfuric acid solutions. The intermediate
CH20, HCOOH, and some C02. radical cation is assumed to lose a proton to give the
methyl radical, which is probably oxidized to the
Palladium Chemistry methyl cation, the solvolysis of which gives the
Work by Sen et al.,s7has shown how Pd(I1) can give observed product.89
a variety of methane functionalization reactions, for
example, that shown in eq 25, where a 60% yield of CH, -
-e-
CH," -
-H*
CH,' LE. CH,' -
HS0,-

CH30S03H (30)
CH, + Pd(OAc), CF,COOH, 80 "C
* CH,OCOCF, (25)
With ethane, the intermediate radical cation can
the methyl ester based on Pd(I1) was reported. In a undergo competitive C-C bond cleavage, leading to
related system, HzO2 oxidizes methane to the same the formation of some C1 products.
ester in (CF&O)20 at 90 "C.
C,H, LE. C2H6'+ - CH,' + CH,' LE.
Mercury Chemistry
In one of the most interesting developments of this
-HS0,-
~ c H ~ + CH,OSO,H (31)
type of chemistry, Periana et a1.88 showed that A similar cleavage has been found for the reaction
methane can be converted into CH30S03H by heating of ethane with N02PF6.91
methane with Hg(I1) in concentrated H2S04 at 180 Moiseevg2reported methane conversion to MeO-
"C. A mechanism was proposed of the type shown COCF3 in up to 90% selectivity by Co(II1) complexes
in eqs 26-28 with H2S04 acting as reoxidant for the at 180 "C in a reaction which probably goes by a
Shilov-type mechanism. KOnig3 described the oxida-
tion of methane by aqueous FeC13 under anaerobic
conditions in the presence of platinum black, a
reaction recently studied by Kool and co-workers. Sen
et al.,95have recently described the use of Pt(II)/Pt-
(0)/02 at 108-134 "C for the oxidation of ethane to
acetic and glycolic acids; Pt(I1) was proposed to carry
Hg(0) formed in the functionalization step is shown out the initial CH activation step. Electrophilic
below. MeOS03H was observed in the system by alkane activation has been reviewed.96
NMR. Alternative mechanisms have been proposed, The systems described up to this point in section
however.s9 IV.Gare interesting in that they show useful chemi-
In general, the systems in this section either cal selectivity and many are very thermally robust
involve the proton itself or a soft, redox-active elec- and air- and water-stable. If their activity could be
trophile, such as SbFs or Pt(II)/(IV). As electrophiles, improved, they would be serious contenders for
they all tend t o interact primarily with the C-H practical applications.
bonding electron pair. Their redox activity plays a
Proton-Coupled Electron Transfer
variety of roles in allowing the functionalization step
to take place. Concerted loss of an electron and a proton from a
molecule, or proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET),
Related Systems has been best c h a r a c t e r i ~ e d in
~ ~electrochemical
,~~
In the period from 1973 t o 1980, Rudakov8l~~~ studies, but it is likely to be common in chemical
looked at the oxidation of alkanes at 15-120 "C by a redox reactions. As applied to methane, the result
variety of oxidants in acid solution. Among the of PCET is equivalent to H atom abstraction in that
reagents studied were Hg(II), H2S04, NO2+, Pd(II), a radical is formed.
Cr(VI), Ru(IV), and Mn(II1). Some may go via the
electrophilic pathway of the last section, others by CH, CH,' -. +
H+ e- + (32)
Aspects of Methane Chemistry Chemical Reviews, 1995, Vol. 95, No. 4 997

The PCET process has a number of advantages for variety of species including MH+ and MCH,+ (n =
reactions of alkanes. Incipient proton loss from CHI 1-3) are observed depending on the metal, the
facilitates electron transfer from the developing CH3- energy of the ions, and their electronic state. The
carbanion. The proton acceptor and the electron reactions are often endothermic, in which case only
acceptor can be separate centers in the reagent. electronically or translationally excited M+ ions bring
Although the reagent causes net H atom loss, it does about reaction. Oxidative addition to give H-M-
not need to be a radical. CH3+ has been suggested as the first step of the
In an important paper, Cook and Mayergs have reaction. This work also allows good estimates of
pointed out how the diamagnetic nonradical species M-CH3+ bond strengths; for example, the bond dis-
CrOzCl2 can abstract an H atom from cyclohexane. sociation energy (BDE)is 57.9 & 2.4 kcdmol for Fe-
In this case, Cr(VI) accepts the electron and the oxo CH3+. A useful review has appeared.lo5 More re-
group accepts the proton in a PCET. For the related cently, third row (5d) transition metals have been
reagent Mn04-, figures are available which allow shown to dehydrogenate methane and, for certain
estimation of the AGO for H atom addition (eq 33). metals after long reaction times, even polymerize
methane to give c2-cS fragments bound to the metal
+
Mnw104- H = HMnwO,- (33) ion.lo6 This implies that Fischer-Tropsch type po-
lymerization of CH2 can occur even on a monometallic
AGO = -79 kcallmol site.
The value for Cr02C12 is expected to be similar and
both are high enough to be consistent with the
M+ + nCH4 - -,MC,H2,+ + nH2 (34)
observed rate of H atom abstraction from hydrocar- (n = 1-8)
bon C-H bonds.
Oxygens having “radical character’’ have been Isolable Complexes1o7
widely postulated as the active H-abstraction inter-
mediates in metal-oxo chemistry, heterogeneous The first examples in which the alkyl hydride
catalysts, and alkane oxidizing enzymes, but eq 18 products of alkane oxidative addition were directly
shows how PCET allows net H abstraction in the observed were Bergman’slo8 photochemical Cp*Ir-
absence of radical character (Cr02C12 and MnV1104- (PMe3)Hz system, which reacts with linear and cyclic
are diamagnetic). The PCET concept therefore needs alkanes, and Graham’slogCpIr(CO)z/hv,which, in a
more careful consideration by workers in the area. perfluorocarbon solvent, also reacts with methane (8
The potential availability of a range of mecha- atm). The role of the light is to expel H2 or CO to
nisms, both concerted and nonconcerted, may help give a reactive intermediate, CpML, which then
explain the wide variations of KHIKD and tertiary: inserts into alkane C-H bonds. The Graham system
secondary selectivity found in alkane reactions of this gave reaction with CHI in a matrix even at 12 K,
type, depending on whether deprotonation or electron showing how low the barrier for CH oxidative addi-
transfer is kinetically dominant. tion is in this case.’1° In the Bergman system,
methane activation was observed thermally, after
H. Oxidative Addition prior loss of C6Hl2 from the cyclohexyl hydride.
A number of reactive transition metal species, bare
atoms, ions, or complex fragments give oxidative
additions to alkane C-H bonds. The fragments in
question tend to be thermodynamically and kineti-
Cp*Ir(PMe,)(CH,)H + C,H,, (35)
cally unstable carbenoids, which, like CH2 itself, can Extensive effortslll to observe the presumed CpML
insert into C-H bonds. intermediate by Bergman and Moore et al. were
Bare Metal Atoms99 always thwarted by the formation of adducts CpML-
(S), where S could be the alkane solvent or even Xe,
Billups et al.loOfound that bare Fe atoms in a CH4 when liquid Xe is used as solvent. Good spectroscopic
matrix can give H-Fe-CH3 when irradiated at 300 evidence for the formation of the alkane and rare gas
nm; Ozin et al.lol later showed that subsequent complexes was obtained in fast kinetic studies.
irradiation at 400 nm reverses the reaction.lo2 Cop- Recent theoretical work has probed the electronic
per and even main group atoms such as Al can give structure of the presumed CpML intermediate.l12
the same type of reaction.lo2 Excited state mercury Related chemistry has been seen in the case of
(3P1,Hg*) in the vapor phase has long been known (Me3P)40sH(CH2tBu),which loses neopentane at 80
to homolyze alkane C-H bonds in a reaction that is “C under C& to give a mixture of the methyl hydride
also applicable in synthetic work.lo3 Siegbahn et and the product of Os insertion into the C-H bond
al.lo4have shown that the reaction involves formation of the phosphine. Intermediacy of the 16electron
of an exciplex, [Hg(CH4)]*, followed by insertion of species (MesP)3Os was proposed.l13 Photolysis of
Hg into the C-H bond (oxidative addition) with [FeH2(Me2PCH2CH2PMe2)~l with methane in xenon
concerted release of R radicals. at -100 “C also gives the methyl hydride.l14
Oxidative addition of H2 is common, but that of
Bare Metal Ions CH4 is very rare. This is not so much a result of the
Armentrout and Beauchamp105have looked at the greater kinetic reactivity of Ha (section 111) but that
reactions of first row transition metal monocations the L,M(H)2 adduct, having two strong M-H bonds
such as V+ with methane in a mass spectrometer. A (bond strength of ca. 60 kcaymol) is much more likely
998 Chemical Reviews, 1995, Vol. 95, No. 4 Crabtree

H
pnxluct -
(H)(PH,),lr"'HCH, --> (H)&PHJ21r(CH,)

TS 4 adduct

M-H-C n A I IO

/ 100

90

M-H-C
80 (")
0

cy 70

C-H
w*
A
nA A A
60

50
05
A
1.0
,
FS
_ I 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8
ho rbp (A)

~ J lexperimental
~
-
Figure 1. Calculated and experimental C-H + M C-M-H reaction trajectory, showing the good agreement obtained
between theory and e ~ p e r i m e n t . ~The data, derived from the results of a series of crystal structures of
agostic complexes, is shown on the left and the theoretical trajectory is shown on the right. [Reproduced from refs 56 and
118 by kind permission of the American Chemical Society.]

to be thermodynamically stable toward H2 loss than teraction strengths.l18 By the Burgi-Dunitz postu-
the L,M(H)(CH3) adduct, because M-CH3 bond
strengths are commonly 10-15 kcaymol less than for
M-H.
the reaction trajectory for the C-H +
M C-M-H
reaction. The results showed that the C-H bond
-
late this series of structures constitutes a model for

Certain systems are selective for the oxidative approaches the metal so that the C-H bond points
addition of methane over other alkanes. In some toward M with an M-H-C angle of about 150" until
cases a kinetic preference has been established, for the H-M distance is relatively short (ca. 1.8 for
example, in WD exchange between arenes and al- Ir). The CH4 group then rotates to bring the C-H
kanes with CpReH2(PPh& as photocatalyst, as re- carbon close to the metal. This rotation means that
ported by Jones and Maguire,l15in which CH4 reacts the CH3 group is also brought close to the other
twice as fast as EtH. In this air-stable system, loss ligands on the metal, leading to potential steric
of phosphine rather than H2 has been identified as interference. The situation is worse if the carbon
the photoinduced step. A thermodynamic preference bears non-hydrogen substituents. CundarP has
has also been shown in other cases, however. For
example, in the Tp'Rh(CO)(R)H system of Ghosh and
Graham,l16 the cyclohexyl hydride converts to the
right) for {IrH(PH&} H3C-H + -
calculated a theoretical reaction trajectory (Figure 1,
[(H3C)IrH2(PH3)21
by RHF methods, which closely resembles the ex-
methyl hydride in the presence of methane at 1 atm perimental one (Figure 1,left) and has the advantage
as a result of the greater strength of M-Me versus of referring t o an unconstrained C-H bond and the
M-C&&1 bonds. Selectivity for methane seems to same metal and substrate combination, rather than
be most marked for bulky metal complexes. For to a variety of chelating agostic species as in the
example, in the case of [Os(PP3)H21(PP3 = P(CH2- experimental work. The fiPvariable is effectively the
PPh2)3), Perutz et a1.l" have shown that for the reaction coordinate for the process; it decreases from
presumed { Os(PP3)) intermediate formed by laser 1.0 to 0 A as the reaction goes to completion.
photolysis at 7-52 "C in the almost inert solvent, The primary and secondary equilibrium deuterium
cyclohexane, the rate constant for reaction with isotope effects for Hz(D2) and H-CHB(D-CD~addi-
methane is 4.3 times that for reaction with n- tion to truns-[Ir(PR3)2(CO)Xlhave been determined
pentane. The very much slower reaction with cyclo- by a statistical mechanical and theoretical study. For
hexane suggests that primary attack takes place in H2 addition an inverse primary isotope effect of 0.46
pentane. (X = Cl) is found, and for H-CHdD-CDd, a value
These data suggest that the bulk of the metal of 3.64.119
complex is important in determining the CH4:
primary C-H:secondary C-H selectivity and that the Catalpic Systems
transition state for the reaction therefore involves
significant steric effects. This is consistent with the Although higher alkanes can be dehydrogenated
side-on three-center transition state that has been and carbonylated by related systems involving oxida-
proposed for C-H oxidative addition. tive addition as the first step,120J21
functionalization
Information about the nature of the transition state of the methyl hydrides resulting from oxidative
was obtained from a detailed structural comparison addition of methane has proved difficult in these
of a number of agostic species, in which C-H bonds systems. A problem with some of these catalysts is
interact with 16 valence electron metal fragments to that they tend to degrade rapidly by attack of the
-
give C-H- OMbridges having different CH. *M in- metal on its own ligands.
Aspects of Methane Chemistry Chemical Reviews, 1995, Vol. 95, No. 4 999

A catalytic reaction of the oxidative addition type Table 7. Bond Dissociation Energies for H-Q
~

was established for methane as early as 1969 by BDE BDE BDE

Shilov et a1.,81W D exchange with D2 catalyzed by ~~
Q (kcallmol) Q
~ ~~
(kcaUmo1) Q (kcallmol)
CoH3(PPh3)2,but the area was not further developed F 135 NH2 108 H 104
at that time. IrH5(PPh& is known to catalyze isotope OH 118 CF3 106 c1 103
exchange between C6D6 and methane at 80 "c; up to CN 111 C6H5 105 t-BuO 102
40 turnovers were observed. Small amounts of
ethane, toluene, and biphenyl were observed as I. H drogen Atom Abstraction and Radical
byproducts. The presence of tBuCH=CH2, is re- Pat!I ways
quired to remove hydrogen from the catalyst, and so
activate it.122 Classical Radical Reactions
Lin and Sen123have shown that methane (56 atm) H atom abstraction from methane has a low barrier
can be converted to acetic acid by reaction with CO/ ( > 5 k ~ a l / m o l ) , so
l ~ ~in the reaction of a radical, Q ,
0 2 (3:1, 20 atm) at 100-150 "C over 10 days with with CHI, the abstraction reaction will generally
aqueous acidic RhCb (10 mM), containing iodide ion proceed rapidly if eq 37 is exothermic. This will
as promoter. A likely route involves formation of
[Rh(CO)&]-, the same intermediate as is proposed
in the well-known conversion of MeOH and CO to
Q + CH, - QH + 'CH, (37)
MeCOOH in the Monsanto In the latter generally be the case for N, O-centered radicals, and
case, MeOH is first converted by HI to give MeI, Cl and F atoms, where, as shown in Table 7, the bond
which oxidatively adds to Rh(1) to give a Rh(II1) dissociation energy of the new Q-H bond formed
methyl species. By analogy, in the Lin and Sen case, exceeds that of the CH3-H bond broken. The OH
methane may oxidatively add to Rh(1) to give a radical is capable of abstraction from methane and
closely analogous Rh(II1)methyl; subsequent carbon- this is believed to be a key step in removal of methane
ylation and hydrolysis would be expected to give from the atmosphere, where OH is a trace constitu-
acetic acid. Neither acetaldehyde nor methanol is ent. Since methane is a greenhouse gas, the kinetics
believed to be an intermediate. Fujiwara et al. also of its removal are of importance in atmospheric
have a methane carbonylation, discussed in section chemistry.128
N.J. Overoxidation tends to occur in any such reaction
because the initially formed CH3X product tends to
Theory have weaker C-H bonds than CH4 itself and so is
selectively oxidized.
Theoretical studies on oxidative addition have In using radical reagents in synthesis, an impor-
shown how both a a- and a n-effect operate. The tant limitation is that there must be no weak (I 100
metal generally has an empty orbital capable of kcal/mol) X-H bonds in the reagents or solvent;
accepting electrons from a C-H a-bond. In the early otherwise, abstraction may occur at those X-H bonds
stages of the reaction, this is dominant, the C-H instead.
bond is not broken, and a o-complex results. Trans- In a series of classical radical chain reactions of
fer of metal electron density into a CH(a*), domi- methane, electronegativeradicals, principally C1 and
nant in the latter stages of the reaction, cleaves the RO (=Q), give H atom abstraction, followed by
CH and forms the M-C and M-H bonds. A d8- functionalizationof the resulting CH3 radical by atom
ML3 fragment is particularly appropriate for this abstraction, leading to regeneration of the reactive
~ ~ o c ~ s s The . ~ theoretical
~ J ~ ~ picture
~ J ~ for~ single
~ Q radical. The general scheme is shown below for
atoms has also been the case of C12.129

Binuclear Oxidative Addition

Sherry and Wayland126ahave found that the bulky
monomer of [Rh(TMP)12(TMP = tetramesitylporphy-
rin) reacts selectively with methane. Initiation can be thermal or, more commonly,
photochemical. The chief problem is the ease of
[Rh(TMP)I, + CH, - overoxidation, as discussed above. All the halometh-
[HRh(TMP)I + [CH,Rh(TMP)I (36)
anes, CHd.,Cl,, are therefore formed, but the chlori-
nation of methane is still commercially useful. Se-
lectivity for MeCl is improved by carrying out the
The kinetic isotope effect is 8.6 (296 K)and nega- reactions in a superacid medium, but the mechanism
tive AS*(-37 eu) is consistent with an ordered linear changes from radical chain to electrophilic under
transition state: Rho *H3C-H* *Rh. The sum of the these circumstances (see section IV.G). Similar
Rh-H and Rh-Me bond energies must be a very pathways are believed to operate for the other
high 117 kcaumol, implying a Rh-Me bond strength h a l ~ g e n s , l ~and
~ J ~other
l typical halogenating agents
of nearly 60 kcal/mol. This is perhaps a result of the such as AgFz or S02Cl2 can also be used.
absence of a trans ligand and minimal steric interfer- Oxidative fluorination of methane at 700 "C gives
ence close to the Rh-Me group. Related systems mainly f l u ~ r o f o r mand, ~ ~the
~ industrially important
having two porphyrins linked together give faster oxychlorinationreaction gives a mixture of halometh-
reactions with H2 and methane.126b ane~.l~~
1000 Chemical Reviews, 1995, Vol. 95, No. 4 Crabtree
HF, O,,chromidalumina
CH, + 3HF + ,/,O, 43-46 operates to give CH2=NH as final product,
CHF, + 3H20 (39) + NH,
NH, Hgq H (43)

NH, -CH, + NH,

In the oxyfluorination case, full oxidation is disfa- CH4
vored by the progressive increase in C-H bond (44)
strength of the remaining C-H bonds as the molecule
is fluorinated. CH, + NH, - CH,NH, (45)
The fact that the reaction of C-centered radicals
with SO2 is very fast allows rapid chloro~ulfonation~~~
via the following sequence: CH,NH, -CH,NH
2H
(46)

+ Cl' - CH,' + HCl

CH, (40) and if this is condensed, and so removed from the

CH,' + SO, - CH,SO,'

system, subsequent reactions cannot occur.
(41) If the residence time of the initial product is
deliberately lengthened, higher imines such as CH3-
CH,SO,' + C1, - CH,SO,Cl + Cl' (42) CH-NH are formed, presumably via CH3 addition
to CHz=NH. If no attempt is made to remove the
The product is then hydrolyzed and oxidized to initial products, an oil is formed containing C, N, and
yield the sulfonic acid. A number of commercial H, probably a mixture of polymeric imines. Hg* can
plants use this process. also photosensitize N2O to give N2 and 0 atoms; the
Methane (50 atm) reacts with sulfur at 550-625 latter can abstract H from methane, but ineffi-
"C either with or without catalysts to give CS2 and ~ient1y.l~~
H2S, a reaction which has also been used com-
m e r ~ i a 1 l y . lNitration
~~ of methane is possible with CD,OD + CH, + N,O 3
nitric acid vapor at 475 0C.136
Many of the systems described above are unselec-
CH,CD,OD + HD (47)
tive, but in recent years a number of new methods
have been developed which although they still involve J. Metal and Metal Oxide Surfaces
radicals give much improved selectivity, by using Metal films, especially those of Pt and Rh, have
either low temperatures, rapid trapping of the radi- long been known to carry out alkane reactions, such
cals, or other strategies. as isotope exchange. Metal oxides, such as Cr203,
Fujiwara13? observed acetic acid formation (40 can also catalyze H/D exchange between Dz and
turnovers in 45 h) from methane, K2S208, and CO, alkanes after activation by heating at 400-700 0C.142
at 80 "C catalyzed by Cu(I1)or Pd(I1). The proposed The reactivity of primary C-H bonds is found to be
mechanism is thought t o involve radical pathways comparable with secondary C-H, and so a pure H
for Cu(II), where an induction period is seen, and abstraction mechanism is unlikely. One possibility
electrophilic attack for Pd(II), but more work is is PCET (section IV.G)with a surface oxide acting
needed on the mechanistic aspects. as the proton acceptor and a redox active site as the
electron acceptor.
Mercury Photosensitized Reactions
Oxidative Coupling
Photoexcited mercury can homolyze alkane C-H Lunsford and c o - w o r k e r have
~ ~ ~ described
~~ a series
bonds as shown in extensive work in the period from of heterogeneous catalysts (e.g., nontransition metal
1950 to 1973.13*Under the conditions employed, the oxides such as LizO/MgO) for 0 2 oxidation of CH4
reactions tend to be slow and unselective for CH4. which are able to abstract H from methane to give
They are slow because the quantum efficiency is only gas-phase methyl radicals which then recombine to
high (0.2-0.8) for alkanes having C-H BDEs below form ethane. This can in turn be dehydrogenated to
ca. 97 kcal/mol. In addition, the initial products from give ethylene. A wide variety of oxide catalysts have
methane, notably ethane and propane, are much proved to be active, and catalyst morphology has been
more reactive than the starting alkane. This is a shown to have a strong influence on the catalyst
manifestation of the common problem of facile over- selectivity. This oxidative coupling reaction has
oxidation of alkanes. The selectivity problem can be attracted intense industrial and academic interest,143b
solvedlo3by operating under conditions in which the but yields have generally been below 25% (typically,
initial products condense, because Hg photosensiti- CZ+selectivities of ca. 80% at 20% conversion). With
zation occurs only in the gas phase, provided a low yields such as these, oxidative coupling cannot yet
pressure Hg lamp is used. The quantum efficiency compete with syngas-based methods.14, The high
problem can be solved139J40by using N-l& as coreagent, exothermicity of eq 48 also poses an engineering
because this molecule reacts very efficiently with
Hg*, probably via lone pair binding to give an [Hg-
NH31" exciplex, which subsequently breaks down to
CH, + 0, = C,H, + 2H,O (48)
give H and NHz radicals. A special feature of NH3 AH = -67 kcaVmol
is that the N-H BDE of 107 kcal/mol is below the
excitation energy of Hg*, so it is efficiently cleaved, problem. In a recent suggestion, the energy output
but greater than the BDE of CH4, so NHZ can is used to generate electrical power along with C2
abstract H from CH4. The sequence shown in eqs pr0d~cts.l~~
Aspects of Methane Chemistry Chemical Reviews, 1995, Vol. 95, No. 4 1001

A reduced surface oxide center having radical dominates the mass spectrum of the products. So far
character ( 0 - 1 has been invoked to explain the H these clusters have not been isolated in condensed
abstraction (but see section IV.G for an alternative phase, but the picture superficially resembles the
possibility). A countercurrent-moving bed reactor situation early in the fullerene (c60) story, so these
has been introduced by A r i s et al.145awhich allows species or their derivatives may eventually prove to
the rapid separation of the methane, oxygen, and C2 be is01able.l~~
products, as in a chromatographic experiment. With
Sm203 catalyst at 1000 K, up to 60% selectivity for M. Radiation Chemistry
C2 products has been obtained. Recently, a gas-
recycle reactor has allowed high selectivity (88%)at Apart from the photosensitized reactions noted in
high conversion (97%).145bThe commercial viability section N.1, direct photochemistry is also possible at
of these improvements remains to be demonstrated. vacuum W wavelengths, but this is not a practically
useful technique.153 High-energy radiation can also
Other Systems cause ionization and fragmentation of methane.154
Good recent r e v i e ~ s l are
~ ~ available
J~~ for both areas,
On a redox-active catalyst (e.g., molybdendsilica), so we do not cover them in detail here.
partial methane oxidation yields MeOH and HCHO.
Yields as high as 78% can be obtained, but at a N. Chemical Aspects of Methanogenesis
conversion of only 3%. Methyl radicals are again
proposed as the key intermediates and are thought Methane is one of the most important natural
to react with surface oxide to give methoxide, which products, because as much as lo9 tons are estimated
can give MeOH by hydrolysis or formaldehyde by to be released each year as a result of bacterial
hydride transfer to the surface.146At high temper- methane production, and this release has implica-
ature and pressure (>500 "C, 580 kPa), gas phase tions for the greenhouse effect.155 In certain situa-
radical chemistry has been shown to dominate the tions, methane from fermentation of wastes can be
partial oxidation of methane and the catalyst has a useful as a
minor ~ontribution.'~~ Methanogenic bacteria, together with the halobac-
' ~ ~ been able to graft the (ally1)zRh-
S ~ h w a r t z has teria and the thermoacidophiles, constitute the ar-
0-Si fragment on to a silica surface using (allylhRh chaebacteria. These have many unusual biochemical
as the precursor. Hydrogenation seems t o give features, such as the occurrence of branched ethers
(ally1)HRh-O-Si, which reacts with 13CH4 to give as lipids and of a series of unusual cofactors. Because
labeled butane after protonation. The systems also their ribosomal RNA sequences are distinct from
catalyze WD exchange and chlorination of methane. those of other living things, they have been consid-
ered as evolutionarily very ancient 0 r g a n i ~ m s . l ~ ~
Methanogenesis involves the biosynthesis of meth-
K. Electrochemistry ane by anaerobic bacteria, a process in which COz or
Electrochemical approaches to CH activation have CO are reduced to CH4. Most methanogens are
been r e v i e ~ e d . ~ ~As
~ ~early
J ~ Oas 1973, Fleischmann capable of growing on H2 and COZas their sole source
et al.149bfound that the oxidation potential of alkanes both of carbon and of energy.158The overall reduction
became more cathodic in HSOsF, where the alkane (eq 49) is exergonic and, accomplished stepwise,
+ 4H2 - CH, + 2H,O
is protonated. Under certain conditions, separate
cyclic voltammetry waves for RH and RHz+ can both CO, (49)
be seen. The intermediate alkyl cation can be
intercepted by CO to give carboxylic acids, by RC02- AGO = -138.8 kJ/mol
to give esters, or by alkanes to give oligomers.
Electrochemical oxidation of methane to C02 is im- provides the energy for the organism. The H2 is
portant in certain fuel cells but requires operating harnessed by hydrogenase, a class of Ni/Fe or Fe
temperatures in excess of 900 "C for useful rates.150 enzymes that convert H2 into protons and electrons.
Under certain conditions, CZproducts can be formed C02 reduction occurs stepwise and the resulting
in good yield, however.150c Another option is a C1 fragments are bound to a series of cofactors unique
reforming step external to the electrochemicalreactor to the methanogens: methanofuran,tetrahydrometh-
in which syngas is formed; this is an efficient fuel anopterin, and factor F-430.159
for fuel cells that operate at moderate temperature The methanogenic bacteria are very rich in nickel
(25 -250 "C). A number of prototype reforminghel and this element has been shown to play a role not
cell systems fueled by natural gas are in operation.150b only in HZactivation by hydrogenases but also in the
last step of methanogenesis (eq 50).
L. Reactions in the Gas Phase and in Plasma
Alkane cations and dications such as CH4+ and
CH,SCH,CH,SO,- + HSR -
CH42+have been formed151a in gas phase charge CH, + RSSCH,CH,SO,- (50)
stripping experiments and studied theoretically by
ab initio m e t h o d ~ ; l ~a ldetailed
~,~ review is available.151d Coenzyme M, the unusual thioether cofactor shown
Unexpectedly stable carbon clusters, called metal- in eq 50 carries the C1 fragment in the form of an
locarbohedranes or met-cars, have been produced by SMe group, the carbon of which is ultimately derived
exposing metal plasmas to methane or other light from CO2. The thioether is hydrogenolyzed by a thiol
carbonaceous gases. M&12 (e.g., M = Ti, Zr, Hf, V, cofactor RSH to liberate methane and the mixed
Cr, Mo, Fe) seems to be particularly stable and disulfide RSSCH&HzS03-. This mixed disulfide is
1002 Chemical Reviews, 1995, Vol. 95, No. 4 Crabtree

subsequently reduced to give the free cofactors in the HOOC

\

Hlw
thiol form.
Equation 50 is catalyzed by methyl-&coenzyme M
reductase, a nickel-dependent enzyme. Further work
has shown that the nickel is present in the form of HzNOC
factor F-430, a nickel hydroporyrinoid cofactor bound
to the reductase. F-430 is labile on removal from the L O O H
enzyme and undergoes epimerization at the 12- and
13-positions to give an equilibrium mixture of F-430
(4%) itself and two epimers. The 12,13-diepi-form
can be crystallized, and a crystal structure has HOOC /"'"
allowed the structure of the native form to be
deduced; this structure is shown in Figure 2.160 One
notable feature is the highly reduced porphyrinoid
ring (corphin),which is very different from anything
0 % coon
previously found in nature. While Ni porphyrin itself Figure 2. Structure of factor F-430,the unusual, partially
shows little tendency to bind exogenous ligands at saturated corrinoid ring unique to methyl-S-coenzyme M
the axial sites, Ni(I1)-F-430 shows substantial axial reductase in m e t l i a n 0 g e n e ~ i s . l ~ ~
reactivity and readily forms a 6-coordinate solvated
high-spin species in solution. The flexibility of the
corphin resulting from its partially reduced state may (11)to the radical, which then adds to the thioether
better enable the ring system to accommodate a cofactor to give a thiyl radical. This is expected t o
6-coordinate high-spin Ni(I1) ion, larger than the methylate the Ni(1) form of F-430 by Me transfer.
4-coordinate low-spin Ni(I1) of the unsolvated cofac-
tor. + HSR - Ni(1) + 'SR + H+
Ni(I1) (51)
The crystal structure also shows that there is a MeSCH,CH,SO,- + 'SR -
pronounced saddle-shaped out-of-plane deformation
of the ring which is substantially larger than any- RS-S(Me)CH,CH,SO,- (52)
thing previously observed in a Ni hydroporphyrin.
Molecular mechanics studies have shown that the
ring can potentially distort so as to accommodate
RS-S(Me)CH,CH,SO,- Ni(1) + -
either trigonal bipyramidal or square pyramidal RS-SCH,CH,SO,- +
Me-Ni(I1) (53)

+ H+ - MeH + Ni(I1)
nickel and it has been suggested that such a distor-
tion may have a role in the mechanistic pathway, Me-Ni(I1) (54)
especially if the nickel accepts either the methyl
group or the thiolate of methyl-S-coenzymeM to give Subsequent protonation of the Ni-Me is proposed to
a 5-coordinate Ni-Me intermediate.161 lead to MeH.
Reduction of Ni(I1)to Ni(1) in F-430 probably occurs
during catalysis; this also leads to an expansion of 0. Chemical Aspects of Methane Monooxygenase
the metal radius and may be favored by the flexibility The great advantage of biochemical oxidation165a
of the ring. The nature of the hydroporphyrin ring is that the reactivity is controlled by the molecular
system has also been shown t o influence the location recognition and regulation characteristics of the
of the electron on reduction. In a Ni(I1) chlorin, less enzyme. This allows essentially complete selectivity
reduced than F-430, reduction takes place on the for methane conversion to methanol even when the
ring, while in more reduced porphyrinoids such as radical chemistry involved is not intrinsically selec-
Ni(I1) isobacteriochlorin and F-430 itself, reduction tive. Apart from the MMO case, another striking
takes place at the metal. The flexibility of the more selectivity effect is shown by a monooxygenase from
reduced rings may allow the larger Ni(1) ion to fit Pseudomonas oleovorans, which converts n-octane to
more easily; in addition the more reduced the por- 1-octanol by attacking one of the least reactive
phyrin, the less able the ring is to accept electrons.162 terminal C-H bonds.165b
The coordination number and geometry of F-430 Enzymes carry out a number of CH activation
under different circumstances has been probed by r e a ~ t i 0 n s . lMethane
~~~ monooxygenase, or MMO, is
EXAFS: both 4- (Figure 2) and 6-coordinate solvated capable of converting methane into methanol using
forms have been identified.163 0 2 and two reducing equivalents. This provides
The situation is complicated by the fact that the methanotrophic bacteria with both energy and car-
reduced form of F-430 in whole cells appears to have bon. The best studied proteins have come from
very different EPR characteristics than in the iso- Methylococcus capsulatus (Bath)165b and Methylosinus
lated enzyme or in free F-430. The activity of the trichosporium OB3b.
enzyme also falls off very sharply on isolation for
reasons that are not fully underst00d.l~~ The detailed CH, + 0, + NADH + H+ = CH,OH + H,O +
mechanism of the reduction is therefore still unclear, NAD' (55)
but Berkessel's ~ u g g e s t i o n , 'shown
~~ in eqs 51-54,
is the most persuasive to date because it shows why The a&yz hydroxylase component (251 kDa) di-
the heterodisulfide, RSSCHZCHZSO~-, is formed. In rectly responsible for methane oxidation contains four
this mechanism, the thiol cofactor is oxidized by Ni- essential irons and binds methane and oxygen.
Aspects of Methane Chemistry Chemical Reviews, 1995, Vol. 95, No. 4 1003

series of related CH activating enzymes, the cyto-

chrome P-450 dependent monooxygenases, which
have a heme group at the active site.173J74Reactive
U
VGIU243 Fe-0 species have been studied in the porphyrin
0 Me 1 (=L)series and shown to have the formulation (U+)-
L O Ferv=O. They oxidize methane via H atom abstrac-
tion by the oxo group consistent with the k ~ l ofk ca.
~
13. Radical character was therefore associated with
this oxo group (but see section IV.G). Radical ab-
,r( HiS246
straction of OH from the metal by the resulting
radical (or "rebound" step) completes the cycle.
44
Figure 3. Schematic active site structure of MMO showing
(L'+)FeN=O + RH - (L)Ferv-OH + R' -
t h e dimeric iron site involved in dioxygen activation and (L)Fe"' + ROH (56)
substrate hydroxylation activity; the redox-active tyrosine
residue is also s h o ~ n . 1 4The
~ acetate ligand is a n artefact The Fe=O species is thought to be originally
of the isolation technique. formed from 0 2 by coordination to the Fe(II), followed
by two-electron reduction and loss of water.
Results of E M S , Mossbauer, EPR, and X-ray
crystallographic work166-169 show that the the diiron
site resembles that in hemerythrin and has a hydroxo (L)Fe" + 0, - (L)Fe'"-O, -e-, 2H+

and a carboxylato bridge. The Fe cluster has (II,II),

(II,III), and (111,111)forms, of which the (I1,II) state
(L'+)Ferv=O + H,O (57)
interacts with 0 2 . In addition to the hydroxylase, The situation for MMO is much less clear, but a
there is also a reductase (38.6 kDa) which accepts Ferv=O species or its equivalent is at least plausible.
electrons from NADH and provides them to the In this case, the iron is in a non-heme environment,
hydroxylase. A third protein (15.5 kDa) regulates where the inorganic chemistry involved is much less
electron transfer between the two other components. well-understood, In the absence of a porphyrin ring,
This regulation ensures that the partial oxidation the second iron or the tyrosine may carry an ad-
product, MeOH, leaves the site before a second ditional oxidizing equivalent, A variety of iron salts
oxidation event can occur. and their complexes have been shown to give CH
The structure of the active site is shown schemati- oxidation reactions, including reactions with methane
cally in Figure 3 and includes the mechanistically it~e1f.l'~In the case of bis{ (2-carboxy-6-carboxy1ato)-
important tyrosine radical. The immediate environ- pyridine}iron(II), 0 2 was used as the oxidant, Ph-
ment of the site is strongly hydrophobic, no doubt in NHNHPh providing the reducing e q ~ i v a 1 e n t s . l ~ ~
part to favor CH4 binding over MeOH. Benzylic The best known non-porphyrin iron catalyst to
hydroxylation shows a substantial intramolecular k$ oxidize alkanes, the Gif system, has been reviewed
AD isotope effect of 5.0-5.2, consistent with partial re~ent1y.l~ It~uses
~ iron salts or iron picolinate
C-H bond cleavage being involved in the slow step complexes and either O n e , OdZn, or H202. The
of the reaction. Radical clock probes, compounds products are largely ketones, but in the presence of
such as trans-2-(phenylmethyl)cyclopropane,which CBrC13,bromination is seen and with PhSSPh, the
rearrange in defined ways when radical intermedi- formation of RSPh. Its most interesting feature is
ates are formed, have shown that the radical rear- the unexpectedly high selectivity for secondary over
rangements expected are indeed seen but only to a tertiary C-H bonds, thought to be inconsistent with
very small extent. This implies either that the simple H atom abstraction, which would normally
reaction is too fast t o allow complete rearrangement favor the tertiary C-H bond. H2S does not inhibit
to occur or that the protein partly prevents the the reaction in spite of being easily oxidized and
rearrangement. Probes with very fast radical rear- having weak S-H bonds. In oxidation of secondary
rangement rates of up to 5 x 10l1s-l were chosen to C-H bonds, radical products, such as alkylpyridine
try to exclude the first po~sibi1ity.l~~ Spectroscopic formation by R attack on the solvent pyridine, are
signals have been detected in a transient from M. not observed. A different mechanism is proposed
trichosporium MMO which have been tentatively involving addition of the C-H bond across the Fe=O
identified171as arising from an Fe(N?=O intermedi- bond of an iron ferry1 species to give R-FeIII-OH.
ate, and there is also EPR evidence172for the involve- The resulting functionalized products, FX,are thought
ment of C-centered radicals. to arise by subsequent reactions of the iron alkyl. The
The requirement for a coreductant when monoxy- relation, if any, of the Gif system to MMO is still
genases use 0 2 as primary oxidant poses severe uncertain. An alternate metal for this type of
practical problems for commercial applications of this chemistry seems to be copper: a membrane-bound
chemistry. A coreductant can often be avoided if a copper-based MMO has recently been reported as
reduced form of 02, for example H202, is used as well as a Cu-based version of the Gif system.176b
primary oxidant. This is the reason that functional An interesting alternative interpretation of Gif
models often employ a peroxide. chemistry has been devised by Minisci et al., at least
for the peroxide-based ~ e r s i 0 n s . lPyridine
~~~ is re-
Functional Model Complexes quired as a solvent in the Gif system and t-BuOOH
This work is still in its early stages in the case of is expected to strongly hydrogen bond to the solvent.
MMO modeling. Better developed models involve a This is known to slow the rate of t-BuO' attack on
1004 Chemical Reviews, 1995, Vol. 95, No. 4 Crabtree

t-BuOOH to give tBuOO' with the result that t-BuO' ordered arrangement of the vesicle is believed to give
does not decompose and becomes an important it its substrate recognition function.
abstracting reagent from the substrate alkane in Drago et al.lS0 have studied the very crowded
pyridine solvent. The steric bulk of this radical is cZs-[Ru(2,9-dimethyl-l,lO-phenanthroline)2(HzO)2]-
believed to lead to the unusual selectivity pattern (PF& catalyst with Hz02 as primary oxidant. At 75
observed. "C in MeCN and at 4 atm pressure, 140 turnovers
per day of a 4:l ratio of MeOH to HCHO were
Gas Phase Iror+Oxo Chemistry observed. A Ru(VI) dioxo intermediate was proposed
In relation to the iron system, S ~ h w a r z 'has
~~ to abstract an H atom fom CH4. The bulk of the
reported a gas phase study of the reaction of Fe=O+ system seems to prevent attack at the normally very
with methane, where the following pathways were sensitive ArMe groups of the ligand system. The
identified. opening of the thoracycle of eq 10 is faster for
methane over ethane, and cyclohexane is unreactive,
57% which may be a result of the very high steric
FeOH+ + CH,

Fe=O*+ CHI
2 Yo

41 Yo
- FeCH2+ + H20 (58)
hindrance in this system.

V. Conclusion
Methane chemistry is likely to become more im-
portant in the coming decades as natural gas takes
a larger role as an energy source. Methane conver-
sion is already becoming a major commercial venture,
but the current routes via syngas could be made
obsolete if a practical direct partial methane oxida-
tion should be discovered. Developing such a process
+-
FeOCD,' + HDO
poses difficult and as yet unsolved chemical and
HO-Fe=Ot+ CD., FeOD* + CDBOH (59) engineering problems. The biosynthesis of methane
FeOH' + CD,OD
and its metabolism by MMO pose challenging mecha-
nistic problems, and the latter may suggest biomi-
Whatever the details of the mechanism, these metic catalysts for methane conversion.
results do indicate that high-valent metal species can
engage in unusual chemistry, suggesting that further VI. Acknowledgments
work is needed in this area. I thank Amoco Corp. and the Department of
Energy for support of our work in this area and Dr.
P. Steric and Shape Selectivity Effects Zheng Lu for assistance.
Enzymes such as MMO combine a substrate rec-
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