Exploring Stable and Selective Anode Materials for the Electrochemical Oxidative Coupling of Methane (EOCM): A Case Study of Doped Titanates

The electrochemical oxidative coupling of methane (EOCM) is an emerging process through which methane can be converted into value-added products such as ethylene. However, this application is hampered by the fact that a stable and ethylene-selective anode material does not currently exist. In this study, we analyse a selection of titanate-based anode materials: SrTi 0.3 Fe 0.63 Co 0.07 O 3 , SrTi 0.65 Fe 0.35 O 3 and La 0.3 Sr 0.7 TiO 3 . We analyse the stability of these materials under EOCM operating conditions using post-mortem characterisations involving XRD, XPS and EDS analyses. We also characterise the ethylene production of these anode materials at similar current densities. We find that Fe/Co-doped titanates are unstable under EOCM conditions and undergo significant phase decomposition while La 0.3 Sr 0.7 TiO 3 remains stable over several weeks of operation.