Liquid phase oxidation of glycerol in batch and flow-type reactors with oxygen over Au-Pd nanoparticles stabilized in anion-exchange resin

Structure-controlled well-dispersed Au-Pd nanoparticles were successfully stabilized in a commercial ion-exchange resin. The so-obtained Au-Pd nanoparticles were tested in liquid phase glycerol partial oxidation in the presence of molecular oxygen. They exhibited better catalytic performances than homologous monometallic Au or Pd catalysts. The optimized bimetallic catalyst trapped in the matrix of the ion-exchange resin was very stable with time on stream (>4000 min) using a fixed bed flow type reactor, with a conversion of ca. 50% and stable selectivities towards glyceric and tartronic acids, of ca. 60% and 30%, respectively. The active phase originated from the presence of nanometric bimetallic nanoparticles (1.0-3.0 nm) characterized by STEM analysis.