Sustainable Co-Synthesis of Glycolic Acid, Formamides and Formates from 1,3-Dihydroxyacetone by a Cu/Al2O3 Catalyst with a Single Active Sites

Glycolic acid (GA), as important building block of biodegradable polymers, has been synthesized for the first time in excellent yields at room temperature by selective oxidation of 1,3-dihyroxyacetone (DHA) using a cheap supported Cu/Al2O3 catalyst with single active Cu-II specks. By combining EPR spin-trapping and operand degrees ATR-IR experiments; different mechanisms for the co-synthesis of GA, fornzates, and formamides have been derived, in which (OH)-O-center dot radicals formed from H2O2 by a Fenton-like reaction play a key role.