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Enzyme-inspired catalyst helps to convert methane into methanol

A catalyst with a hydrophobic cavity that contains an active iron centre has been developed to convert methane into methanol. It has a ‘catch-and-release’ mechanism whereby a hydrophobic methane molecule enters the cavity for oxidation and the resulting hydrophilic methanol molecule is released into the surrounding aqueous solution.

This is a summary of: Fujisaki, H. et al. Selective methane oxidation by molecular iron catalysts in aqueous medium. Nature https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-05821-2 (2023).

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doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-00810-x

‘Expert opinion’ is published under a CC BY 4.0 licence.

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