Selective Oxidation of n-Butanol Using Gold-Palladium Supported Nanoparticles Under Base-Free Conditions

• Published in: ChemSusChem Vol. 8; no. 3; pp. 473 - 480
• Main Authors: Gandarias, Inaki, Miedziak, Peter J., Nowicka, Ewa, Douthwaite, Mark, Morgan, David J., Hutchings, Graham J., Taylor, Stuart H.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Weinheim WILEY-VCH Verlag 01.02.2015; WILEY‐VCH Verlag; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: 1-Butanol - chemistry; alloys; colloids; gold; Gold - chemistry; heterogeneous catalysis; Metal Nanoparticles - chemistry; Oxidation-Reduction; Oxygen - chemistry; palladium; Palladium - chemistry; Particle Size; Titanium - chemistry; gold; palladium; alloys; heterogeneous catalysis; colloids
• ISSN: 1864-5631; 1864-564X
• DOI: 10.1002/cssc.201403190

The base‐free selective catalytic oxidation of n‐butanol by O2 in an aqueous phase has been studied using Au‐Pd bimetallic nanoparticles supported on titania. Au‐Pd/TiO2 catalysts were prepared by different methods: wet impregnation, physical mixing, deposition–precipitation and sol immobilisation. The sol immobilisation technique, which used polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as the stabilizing agent, gave the catalyst with the smallest average particle size and the highest stable activity and selectivity towards butyric acid. Increasing the amount of PVA resulted in a decrease in the size of the nanoparticles. However, it also reduced activity by limiting the accessibility of reactants to the active sites. Heating the catalyst to reflux with water at 90 °C for 1 h was the best method to enhance the surface exposure of the nanoparticles without affecting their size, as determined by TEM, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy and CO chemisorption analysis. This catalyst was not only active and selective towards butyric acid but was also stable under the operating conditions. Stabilize, catalyze, oxidize: Au‐Pd nanoparticles supported on TiO2, prepared by sol immobilization using polyvinyl alcohol as the stabilizing ligand, produced a high yield of butyric acid by the base‐free oxidation of n‐butanol by molecular oxygen under mild conditions.