Solar-hybrid biocatalyst for methane hydroxylation to methanol

Jinha Jang, Devashish Das, Rowina Lestari, Jung-Kul Lee () and Chan Beum Park ()
Additional contact information
Jinha Jang: Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology
Devashish Das: Konkuk University
Rowina Lestari: Konkuk University
Jung-Kul Lee: Konkuk University
Chan Beum Park: Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-12

Abstract: Abstract Methane hydroxylation presents a promising approach to produce high-energy methanol from potent greenhouse gases, thereby contributing to a more sustainable future. Despite its environmental importance, current research on this process remains challenging due to the harsh operating conditions for the activation of inert C-H bond in methane. In nature, methane monooxygenase converts methane by activating the C-H bonds through its hydroxylase, under ambient conditions, receiving electrons from NADH via a reductase. Beyond the traditional biological approach, the development of NADH-independent biocatalytic systems could open new avenues for cost-effective and sustainable methane conversion. Herein, we report an NADH-free biosolar platform that activates hydroxylase for eco-friendly methanol production. The xanthene-based light harvester spontaneously associates with hydroxylase and directly transfers its photoexcited electrons to the diiron active site, eliminating the need for a cofactor or reductase. Halogenation of xanthene accelerates direct electron transfer to the active site by increasing the polarizability and spin-orbit coupling of the light harvesters. Accordingly, the direct photobiocatalytic platform achieved a methanol time yield of 7.52 mmol gcat−1 h−1. This work provides the design concept of solar-driven biocatalytic methane hydroxylation under ambient conditions, suggesting a promising approach for implementing methanol biomanufacturing.

Date: 2025
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-64362-6 Abstract (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:16:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-025-64362-6

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-64362-6

Access Statistics for this article

Nature Communications is currently edited by Nathalie Le Bot, Enda Bergin and Fiona Gillespie

More articles in Nature Communications from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().