Bimetallic gold/palladium catalysts for the selective liquid phase oxidation of glycerol

A new methodology for the preparation of single phase bimetallic Au-Pd on activated carbon (AC) has been recently developed and now used for preparing Au/Pd catalysts at different atomic ratio. The bimetallic catalysts have been tested in the liquid phase oxidation on glycerol in water using oxygen as the oxidant and compared with monometallic An and I'd catalysts. We observed that strong synergistic effect is present in a large range of Au/Pd ratio, being maximized for Au-90-Pd-10 composition. Gold-rich composition showed an increased durability compared to palladium-rich alloy.