Abstract: | Using a mixture of NO + O2 as the oxidant enabled the direct selective oxidation of methane to dimethyl ether (DME) over Pt/Y2O3. The reaction was carried out in a fixed bed reactor at 0.1 MPa over a temperature range of 275–375 °C. During the activity tests, the only carbon‐containing products were DME and CO2. The DME productivity (μmol gcat?1 h?1) was comparable to oxygenate productivities reported in the literature for strong oxidants (N2O, H2O2, O3). The NO + O2 mixture formed NO2, which acted as the oxygen atom carrier for the ultimate oxidant O2. During the methane partial oxidation reaction, NO and NO2 were not reduced to N2. In situ FTIR showed the formation of surface nitrate species, which are considered to be key intermediate species for the selective oxidation. |