Catalytic oxidation of rare sugars over gold catalysts

This minireview presents an overview on the recent developments for the heterogeneous catalytic aerobic oxidation of rare sugars over supported gold catalysts. The selective oxidation of several rare sugars; L-arabinose, D-galactose and D-lactose representing pentoses, hexoses and disaccharides, respectively, is reviewed. The critical evaluation of the aerobic oxidation of the different sugars presents a great opportunity to understand the fundamentals of the surprising reactivity and extraordinary properties of gold. This in turn can open up the possibilities for industrial exploitation of sustainable and green processes. Emphasis was put on catalysis, kinetics and mechanistic studies based on understanding of the fundamental reaction engineering.