Biosynthesized Gold/Activated Carbon Catalyst for Aerobic Glucose Oxidation: Influence of Acid Treatment on Activated Carbon

Abstract The biosynthesized gold/activated carbon catalysts for glucose oxidation were prepared with Cacumen platycladi leaves extract, and activated carbon ( AC ) was modified with hydrochloric acid and nitric acid to modify its surface chemistry and used as supports. The catalysts with acid‐treated AC exhibited improving activity for the selective oxidation of glucose, when compared to that with untreated one. In order to investigate the influence of the acid treatment for the catalysts performance, the surface chemical properties of AC were characterized by Brunauer‐ Emmett‐Teller surface area characterization, Boehm titration, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, respectively. The dispersion of AuNPs on AC was observed by transmission electron microscopy and X‐ray diffraction. The results indicated that the catalysts with acid treated supports showed improved dispersion than that of untreated one, which may be the result that the supports significantly increase the surface functional groups and remove the ash after acid treatment.