Catalytic functionalization of methane

A mixture of sodium vanadate and pyrazine-2-carboxylic acid (pcaH) efficiently catalyses the reaction of methane with molecular oxygen (from air) and hydrogen peroxide to give methyl hydroperoxide and, as consecutive products, methanol and formaldehyde. The reaction takes place under mild conditions (25-75 °C) either in aqueous or in acetonitrile solution. The complexes formed from the catalyst precursor and the co-catalyst (under the reaction conditions) have been isolated and characterized as the derivatives [VO₂(pca)₂]^- (1) and [VO(O₂) (pca)₂]^- (3). The implications of these species in the catalytic process are discussed.