Natural gas is one of the most abundant energy resources on Earth, and most of it is made of methane along with smaller amounts of ethane and propane.
While these gases are usually burned for fuel—releasing greenhouse gases in the process—chemists have long dreamed of turning them directly into useful chemicals.
Methane, however, is extremely stable, which makes it very difficult to convert into new materials.
This has limited its use as a greener and more sustainable starting point for the chemical industry.
A research team led by Martín Fañanás at the Center for Research in Biological Chemistry and Molecular Materials (CiQUS) at the University of Santiago de Compostela has now made a major breakthrough.
They have developed a method that transforms methane and other components of natural gas into chemical “building blocks” that can be used to create high-value products, including medicines.
Their findings, published in Science Advances, mark a crucial step toward a cleaner, more circular chemical economy.
Most impressively, the team has, for the first time, created a bioactive compound—dimestrol—directly from methane.
Dimestrol is a non-steroidal estrogen used in hormone therapy, and producing it from such a simple and abundant gas highlights the power and potential of this new approach.
The breakthrough centers on a chemical transformation called allylation. In this reaction, the methane molecule is given a small “handle,” known as an allyl group.
Once this handle is attached, chemists can easily build more complex molecules from it, including pharmaceutical ingredients and industrial chemicals.
The biggest challenge had been preventing the catalyst from producing unwanted byproducts, especially chlorinated compounds.
To solve this, the team designed a custom-built supramolecular catalyst. According to Prof. Fañanás, the key was using a tetrachloroferrate anion stabilized by collidinium cations. This structure controls the behavior of the reactive free radicals formed during the reaction.
A network of hydrogen bonds around the iron atom helps keep the reaction on track—activating the methane while preventing the side reactions that lead to chlorination. This delicate balance makes the desired allylation reaction possible.
The method is also environmentally friendly. It uses iron, which is inexpensive, abundant, and far less toxic than many metals used in industrial catalysis. The reaction runs at low temperatures and pressures and is powered by LED light, reducing both energy use and environmental impact.
This study is part of a larger effort at CiQUS to upgrade natural gas into more valuable chemicals. In a related project published in Cell Reports Physical Science, the same team developed a method to combine methane, ethane, and propane directly with acid chlorides to form ketones—important ingredients in many industrial processes.
Together, these discoveries show that natural gas can be transformed into a wide range of useful chemical intermediates instead of being burned.
This could help reduce dependence on traditional petrochemical sources and provide a more sustainable pathway for producing pharmaceuticals and other essential materials.
