Nowadays, the development of new technologies for the direct
conversion of methane into other products is an important
challenge that has attracted much attention. As the main
component of natural gas, methane is very abundant and
possesses a high calorific power, so it is commonly used as
direct fuel.1 Besides this, the possibility of directly transforming
methane into oxygenated products, such as methanol and
formaldehyde, and even into longer chain compounds (e.g.,
ethane) also becomes an interesting alternative for its
revalorization. Methanol, for instance, is a desirable product
because it is an important chemical intermediate, used for
obtaining other oxygenated compounds such as formaldehyde
and acetic acid.2 For these reasons, several efforts have been
made in heterogeneous and homogeneous catalysis with diverse
types of materials.3,4 These studies, however, usually imply high
temperatures and pressures or more complex systems, besides
displaying poor selectivity associated with the continuous
oxidation of methanol into CO and CO2.