(Phys.org)—A team of researchers with affiliations to Tufts University, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Argonne National Laboratory has developed a way to convert methane directly to methanol or acetic acid under mild conditions. In their paper published in the journal Nature, the group describes the procedure and suggests their technique might lead to other efforts aimed at optimizing catalysts for the direct conversion of methane to useful liquid chemicals. Ive Hermans with the University of Wisconsin outlines current techniques for converting the gas to other products in a News & Views piece in the same journal issue, and also discusses the work done by the team in this new effort.