Further conversion of the CH 4 activation product and possible recovery of the gallium imide require a strong acceptor of methyl and hydrogen. For example, the addition of the methyl and hydrogen carbon to a diazo molecule such as dethyl azodicarboxylate (DEAD), in which strong C -N and H -N bonds are formed at the cost of a N --N π-bond, has an overall energy of 118 kJ mol -1 . While this reaction is endothermic, it requires less energy than is released upon methane activation (Figure ), making the overall methane conversion process exothermic. Furthermore, it may be possible to fine tune the structure of the methyl and hydrogen acceptor to make the binding even stronger.