A Review of Methane Photocatalytic Systems

• • Photocatalytic CH4 conversion achieves selective oxidation to liquid oxygenates with ~100% selectivity and mmol-scale productivity using Ag/ZnO derived from ZIF-8, demonstrating industrial viability for direct methanol production. • • Rhodium single-atom catalysts enable selective formation of acetic acid and methanol via direct methane oxidation, with product distributions tunable by metal site architecture, offering a route to C2+ chemicals at ambient conditions. • • Continuous-flow reactors for oxidative coupling of methane exhibit high efficiency and durability, as reported in J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2024, indicating scalability potential for industrial C2 hydrocarbon production. • • Molecular junction photocatalysts achieve methane oxidation to ethanol (Nature, 2025), highlighting a breakthrough in selective C–H activation, with implications for renewable fuel synthesis.