Activation and Conversion of Light Alkanes

Dear Colleagues,

The conversion of light alkanes has received considerable attention due to the abundance of propane, ethane, and methane as fractions of crude oil resulting from oil refineries and the extraction of natural and shale gases. These light alkanes are of great economic value as starting materials when used as feed stocks for chemicals. Many catalysts—both heterogeneous and homogeneous in nature—have been developed for the conversion of light alkanes, involving dehydrogenation, dehydroaromatization, selective oxidation, and oxidative coupling, among other approaches. Differing from their heterogeneous counterparts, homogeneous catalysts have well-defined molecular structures and also offer the possibility for detailed investigation of the mechanisms of selective activation of C–H bonds of light alkanes in many processes of particular interest, such as in selective oxidation and C–C coupling. There are still plenty of opportunities for the development of novel approaches for chemical conversion of light alkanes.

This Special Issue of the journal Molecules is, thus, devoted to highlighting the recent progress in the design, synthesis, characterization, investigation, and application of novel catalysts for efficient and selective conversion of light alkanes.

Dr. Xin Liu
Guest Editor

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