Exploring the Effect of Au/Pt Ratio on Glycerol Oxidation in Presence and Absence of a Base

Bimetallic AuPt nanoparticles with different Au:Pt ratios (molar ratio: 9-1, 8-2, 6-4, 2-8, 1-9) and the corresponding Au and Pt monometallic ones were prepared by sol immobilization and immobilized on commercial TiO2 (P25). The catalytic activity was evaluated in the liquid phase glycerol oxidation in presence and absence of a base (NaOH). It was found that the Au:Pt molar ratio and reaction conditions strongly influence the catalytic performance. In the presence of NaOH, Au-rich catalysts were more active than Pt-rich ones, with the highest activity observed for Au9Pt1/TiO2 (6575 h−1). In absence of a base, a higher content of Pt is needed to produce the most active catalyst (Au6Pt4/TiO2, 301 h−1). In terms of selectivity, in presence of NaOH, Au-rich catalysts showed a high selectivity to C3 products (63–72%) whereas Pt-rich catalysts promote the formation of formic and glycolic acids. The opposite trend was observed in absence of a base with Pt-rich catalysts showing higher selectivity to C3 products (83–88%).