Au on MgAl2O4 spinels: The effect of support surface properties in glycerol oxidation

Abstract

Here we investigated the properties of Au nanoparticles, prepared via three different techniques and supported on three different MgAl2O4 spinels. The surface composition and area of the spinel plays an important role in determining the selectivity of the catalyst in the selective oxidation of glycerol. it was found that aluminum rich surfaces enhance the C-C bond cleavage reaction for large gold particles which is opposite of what is normally observed for large clusters which typically show no C-C cleavage. We also report that similarly sized AuNPs on the different MgAl2O4 spinels with the same surface Al/Mg ratio, show a similar selectivity; however activity depends on surface area.