Selective oxidation of 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furfural using supported gold-copper nanoparticles

The oxidation of 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furfural was studied under mild reaction conditions using TiO2-supported Au and Au-Cu catalysts synthesized from pre-formed nanoparticles. Bimetallic gold-copper catalysts display superior activity as compared to monometallic gold. Moreover, after reaction, the bimetallic Au-Cu catalysts can be recovered by filtration and reused without significant loss of activity and selectivity whereas gold materials are not stable. STEM-HAADF imagining and XEDS spectra obtained from bimetallic materials show that particles are homogeneous AuCu alloys. No AuCu ordering or segregation effects were noted from these analyses, and the Au: Cu ratio was quite consistent from particle-to-particle irrespective of its absolute size, proving the efficiency of the original method of synthesis utilized. Isolation effects of gold by copper in the alloy nanoparticles is imagined to play a pivotal role in the reaction. The effect of oxygen pressure, metal loading, reaction time, amount of base and temperature were studied in detail and a 99% yield of furandicarboxylic acid was achieved under optimized reaction conditions.