Ag-Pd nanoparticles prepared by laser ablation for selective oxidation of propylene glycol to lactic acid

Abstract

Silver/palladium composite nanoparticles (NPs) obtained by pulsed laser ablation in liquid (PLAL) technique catalyze oxidation of propylene glycol (PG) to lactic acid (LA) in alkaline media. The PLAL technique allows obtaining silver/palladium NPs with different silver/palladium molar ratio. Addition of palladium increases PG conversion (up to 52%) and LA selectivity (up to 88%). The reaction temperature and silver/palladium molar ratio strongly affects the catalytic activity of the silver/palladium composite NPs.