Scientists have deciphered how an activated catalyst breaks down the strong carbon-hydrogen bonds in potent greenhouse gas methane, according to a study published in Science. Using advanced X-ray technology and quantum-chemical calculations, they tracked the electron exchange between the catalyst and the methane molecule, paving the way for developing more efficient catalysts to convert harmful gases into useful chemicals.
The use of short flashes of X-ray light brings scientists one big step closer to developing better catalysts to transform the greenhouse gas methane into a less harmful chemical. The result, published in the journal Science, reveals for the first time how carbon-hydrogen bonds of alkanes break and how the catalyst works in this reaction.
Methane, one of the most potent greenhouse gases, is being released into the atmosphere at an increasing rate by livestock farming as well as the continuing unfreezing of permafrost. Transforming methane and longer-chain alkanes into less harmful and in fact useful chemicals would remove the associated threats, and in turn make a huge feedstock for the chemical industry available. However, transforming methane necessitates as a first step the breaking of a C-H bond, one of the strongest chemical linkages in nature.
The research was led by scientists from Uppsala University in collaboration with the Paul Scherrer Institute in Switzerland, Stockholm University, Hamburg University and the European XFEL in Germany. For the first time, the scientists were able to directly watch the catalyst at work and reveal how it breaks those C-H bonds.
Raphael Jay, Researcher at the Department of Physics and Astronomy, Uppsala University. Credit: Mikael Wallerstedt
In two experiments conducted at the Paul Scherrer Institute in Switzerland, the researchers were able to follow the delicate exchange of electrons between a rhodium catalyst and an octane C-H group as it gets broken. Using two of the most powerful sources of X-ray flashes in the world, the X-ray laser SwissFEL and the X-ray synchrotron Swiss Light Source, the reaction could be followed all the way from the beginning to the end. The measurements revealed the initial light-induced activation of the catalyst within 400 femtoseconds (0.0000000000004 seconds) to the final C-H bond breaking after 14 nanoseconds (0.000000014 seconds).
“The time-resolved X-ray absorption experiments we performed are only possible at large-scale facilities like SwissFEL and the Swiss Light Source, which provide extremely bright and short X-ray pulses. The catalyst is immersed in a dense octane solution, but by taking the perspective of the metal, we could specifically pick the one C-H bond out of hundreds of thousands which is made to break,” explains Raphael Jay, Researcher at Uppsala University and lead experimentalist of the study.
Philippe Wernet, Professor at the Department of Physics and Astronomy, Uppsala University. Credit: Mikael Wallerstedt
To interpret the complex experimental data, theoreticians from Uppsala University and Stockholm University teamed up and performed advanced quantum-chemical calculations.
“Our calculations allow us to clearly identify how electronic charge flows between the metal catalyst and the C-H group in just the right proportion. We can see how charge flowing from the metal onto the C-H bond glues the two chemical groups together. Charge flowing in the opposite direction instead acts as a scissor that eventually breaks the C and the H atom apart,” explains Ambar Banerjee, Postdoctoral researcher at Uppsala University and lead theoretician of the study.
The study solves a forty-year-old mystery about how an activated catalyst can actually break strong C-H bonds by carefully exchanging fractions of electrons and without the need for huge temperatures or pressures. With their new tool to hand, the researchers next want to learn how to direct the flow of electrons to help develop better catalysts for the chemical industry in order to make something useful out of methane and other alkanes.
Facts
The study builds on the pioneering work of grandfather, father and son Manne, Kai, and Per Siegbahn.
Manne Siegbahn (Uppsala University), who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1924, pioneered how different elements can be distinguished by X-rays.
Kai Siegbahn (Uppsala University), who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1981, pioneered how different chemical environments of the same element can be distinguished by X-rays.
Per Siegbahn (Stockholm University) theoretically predicted the concerted exchange of electronic charge required for breaking a C-H bond.
Reference: “Tracking C-H activation with orbital resolution” by Raphael M. Jay, Ambar Banerjee, Torsten Leitner, Ru-Pan Wang, Jessica Harich, Robert Stefanuik, Hampus Wikmark, Michael R. Coates, Emma V. Beale, Victoria Kabanova, Abdullah Kahraman, Anna Wach, Dmitry Ozerov, Christopher Arrell, Philip J. M. Johnson, Camelia N. Borca, Claudio Cirelli, Camila Bacellar, Christopher Milne, Nils Huse, Grigory Smolentsev, Thomas Huthwelker, Michael Odelius and Philippe Wernet, 1 June 2023, Science.
DOI: 10.1126/science.adf8042
![](https://www.nanoappsmedical.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/spacer.jpg)
News
The Silent Battle Within: How Your Organs Choose Between Mom and Dad’s Genes
Research reveals that selective expression of maternal or paternal X chromosomes varies by organ, driven by cellular competition. A new study published today (July 26) in Nature Genetics by the Lymphoid Development Group at the MRC [...]
Study identifies genes increasing risk of severe COVID-19
Whether or not a person becomes seriously ill with COVID-19 depends, among other things, on genetic factors. With this in mind, researchers from the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) and the University of Bonn, in [...]
Small regions of the brain can take micro-naps while the rest of the brain is awake and vice versa
Sleep and wake: They're totally distinct states of being that define the boundaries of our daily lives. For years, scientists have measured the difference between these instinctual brain processes by observing brain waves, with [...]
Redefining Consciousness: Small Regions of the Brain Can Take Micro-Naps While the Rest of the Brain Is Awake
The study broadly reveals how fast brain waves, previously overlooked, establish fundamental patterns of sleep and wakefulness. Scientists have developed a new method to analyze sleep and wake states by detecting ultra-fast neuronal activity [...]
AI Reveals Health Secrets Through Facial Temperature Mapping
Researchers have found that different facial temperatures correlate with chronic illnesses like diabetes and high blood pressure, and these can be detected using AI with thermal cameras. They highlight the potential of this technology [...]
Breakthrough in aging research: Blocking IL-11 extends lifespan and improves health in mice
In a recent study published in the journal Nature, a team of researchers used murine models and various pharmacological and genetic approaches to examine whether pro-inflammatory signaling involving interleukin (IL)-11, which activates signaling molecules such [...]
Promise for a universal influenza vaccine: Scientists validate theory using 1918 flu virus
New research led by Oregon Health & Science University reveals a promising approach to developing a universal influenza vaccine—a so-called "one and done" vaccine that confers lifetime immunity against an evolving virus. The study, [...]
New Projects Aim To Pioneer the Future of Neuroscience
One study will investigate the alterations in brain activity at the cellular level caused by psilocybin, the psychoactive substance found in “magic mushrooms.” How do neurons respond to the effects of magic mushrooms? What [...]
Decoding the Decline: Scientific Insights Into Long COVID’s Retreat
Research indicates a significant reduction in long COVID risk, largely due to vaccination and the virus’s evolution. The study analyzes data from over 441,000 veterans, showing lower rates of long COVID among vaccinated individuals compared [...]
Silicon Transformed: A Breakthrough in Laser Nanofabrication
A new method enables precise nanofabrication inside silicon using spatial light modulation and laser pulses, creating advanced nanostructures for potential use in electronics and photonics. Silicon, the cornerstone of modern electronics, photovoltaics, and photonics, [...]
Caught in the actinium: New research could help design better cancer treatments
The element actinium was first discovered at the turn of the 20th century, but even now, nearly 125 years later, researchers still don't have a good grasp on the metal's chemistry. That's because actinium [...]
Innovative Light-Controlled Drugs Could Revolutionize Neuropathic Pain Treatment
A team of researchers from the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) has developed light-activated derivatives of the anti-epileptic drug carbamazepine to treat neuropathic pain. Light can be harnessed to target drugs to specific [...]
Green Gold: Turning E-Waste Into a Treasure Trove of Rare Earth Metals
Scientists are developing a process inspired by nature that efficiently recovers europium from old fluorescent lamps. The approach could lead to the long-awaited recycling of rare earth metals. A small molecule that naturally serves [...]
Cambridge Study: AI Chatbots Have an “Empathy Gap,” and It Could Be Dangerous
A new study suggests a framework for “Child Safe AI” in response to recent incidents showing that many children perceive chatbots as quasi-human and reliable. A study has indicated that AI chatbots often exhibit [...]
Nanoparticle-based delivery system could offer treatment for diabetics with rare insulin allergy
Up to 3% of people with diabetes have an allergic reaction to insulin. A team at Forschungszentrum Jülich has now studied a method that could be used to deliver the active substance into the [...]
Nanorobot kills cancer cells in mice with hidden weapon
Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have developed nanorobots that kill cancer cells in mice. The robot's weapon is hidden in a nanostructure and is exposed only in the tumor microenvironment, sparing healthy cells. [...]