The application of solid electrolyte reactors for methane oxidation to co-generation of power and chemicals could be interesting, mainly with the use of materials that could come from renewable sources and abundant metals, such as the [6,6′- (2, 2′-bipyridine-6, 6′-diyl)­bis (1,3,5-triazine-2, 4-diamine)]­(nitrate-O)­copper (II) complex. In this study, we investigated the optimal ratio between this complex and carbon to obtain a stable, conductive, and functional reagent diffusion electrode. The most active Cu-complex compositions were 2.5 and 5% carbon, which were measured with higher values of open circuit and electric current, in addition to the higher methanol production with reaction rates of 1.85 mol L–1 h–1 close to the short circuit potential and 1.65 mol L–1 h–1 close to the open circuit potential, respectively. This activity was attributed to the ability of these compositions to activate water due to better distribution of the Cu complex in the carbon matrix as observed in the rotating ring disk electrode experiments.

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The search for alternatives for converting methane into value-added products has been of great interest to scientific, technological, and industrial society. An alternative to this could be the use of copper-doped palladium catalysts with different proportions supported on metal oxides, such as Sb2O5.SnO2 (ATO) catalysts. These combinations were employed to convert the methane-to-methanol in mild condition using a fuel cell polymer electrolyte reactor. The catalysts prepared presents Pd, CuO, and Sb2O5.SnO2 phases with a mean particle size of about 9 nm. In activity experiments, the Pd80Cu20/ATO indicated maximum power density and maximum rate reaction for methanol production when compared to other PdCu/ATO materials. The use of ATO as a support favored the production of methanol from methane, while PdCu with high copper content demonstrated the production of more oxidized compounds, such as carbonate and formate.