Selective oxidation of glycerol to dihydroxyacetone using CeO2-ZrO2-Bi2O3-SnO2-supported platinum catalysts

Abstract

The effects of the Bi3+ introduction and the oxygen release and storage abilities on selective oxidation of glycerol into dihydroxyacetone (DHA) were demonstrated using Pt/CeO2-ZrO2-Bi2O3-SnO2/SBA-16 (SBA-16: Santa Barbara Amorphous No. 16) catalysts. By introducing Bi3+ or Sn4+/2+ ions into the CeO2-ZrO2 promoter, the oxygen release and storage abilities were enhanced, which led to increased glycerol conversion. The improvement in the DHA yield was affected by the introduction of Bi3+, which might accelerate selective oxidation of a secondary hydroxy group in glycerol caused by the geometric effect. The highest activity was obtained for Pt/Ce0.64Zr0.16Bi0.15Sn0.05O2−δ/SBA-16, which showed high oxygen release and storage abilities and a high number of Bi3+ ions, with the DHA yield increasing to 53% and high rates of glycerol conversion (74%) and DHA selectivity (72%) after reaction at a moderate temperature of 30 °C for 4 h in atmospheric air.