Selective oxidation of glycerol over different shaped WO3 supported Pt NPs

Abstract In this work, different shaped WO3 (rod-like, lamellar and cuboid) supported Pt catalysts were prepared in a facile routine and tested in the selective oxidation of glycerol in base-free aqueous solution. Characterizations indicated that rod-like WO3 supported Pt catalyst (Pt/R-WO3) possesses higher surface area because of the formation of vertical pore channels and highly exposed plane (100), the deposited Pt atoms combined strongly with the terminal W O in rod-like WO3. These properties promoted the adsorption, storage and surface diffusion of oxygen over Pt/R-WO3 which exhibited the excellent activity for the selective oxidation of glycerol. And the higher amount of acid sites on the surface of Pt/R-WO3 enhanced the selectivity of glyceric acid. The calculated turnover frequency of each Pt atom in Pt/R-WO3 reached 946 h–1 at 60 °C.