Nonoxidative Activation of Methane Tushar V. Choudhary, # Erhan Aksoylu, and D. Wayne Goodman * Department of Chemistry, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA ABSTRACT ...................................................... 152 I. INTRODUCTION ................................................. 152 II. FUNDAMENTAL SURFACE SCIENCE STUDIES ................... 154 A. Tungsten Surfaces ............................................. 155 B. Ni Surfaces ................................................... 155 C. Platinum and Palladium Surfaces ................................ 158 D. Electron and Photo-Induced Dissociation of Methane on Pt(111) . . . 159 E. Rh and Ir Surfaces ............................................. 160 F. Ru Surfaces ................................................... 160 III. LOW TEMPERATURE COUPLING OF METHANE ................. 161 IV. PYROLYSIS AND HIGH-TEMPERATURE COUPLING OF METHANE ....................................................... 166 A. Methane Pyrolysis and Dehydrogenative Coupling of Methane in Homogeneous Systems ...................................... 167 B. Catalytic Pyrolysis and Nonoxidative Coupling of Methane at High-Temperatures ............................................ 170 1. Carbonaceous, Oxide, and Metal Catalysts ................... 170 2. Zeolite-Supported Catalysts ................................. 171 V. PRODUCTION OF HYDROGEN ................................... 175 151 DOI: 10.1081/CR-120017010 0161-4940 (Print); 1520-5703 (Online) Copyright q 2003 by Marcel Dekker, Inc. www.dekker.com # Current address: Phillips Petroleum Company, Bartlesville, OK 74004, USA. * Correspondence: D. Wayne Goodman, Department of Chemistry, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA; Fax: (979) 845-6822; E-mail: goodman@mail.chem.tamu.edu. CATALYSIS REVIEWS Vol. 45, No. 1, pp. 151–203, 2003 MARCEL DEKKER, INC. • 270 MADISON AVENUE • NEW YORK, NY 10016 ©2003 Marcel Dekker, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of Marcel Dekker, Inc.