Ball-milling synthesis of SBA-15-Tuned CuO supported Au NPs for efficient glycerol oxidation to dihydroxyacetone

Abstract Catalytic conversion of glycerol to dihydroxyacetone (DHA) has significant advantages, including abundant raw material sources (as glycerol is a by-product of biodiesel) and high added value of the product. Although CuO-based catalysts are currently the most widely used materials in this field, existing catalyst modification strategies are insufficient, and their activity still needs to be improved. In this work, for the first time, a template-induced Au/CuO catalyst with zeolite molecular sieve SBA-15 as the template was prepared via the mechanochemical method, achieving a new breakthrough in the performance of CuO catalysts. The obtained catalyst is characterized by the fact that the introduction of SBA-15 alters the morphology and physical properties of CuO, resulting in smaller gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) and a stronger interaction between the active centers and the support. Under the preparation conditions of a ball-to-powder ratio of 1:15, a milling time of 0.5 h, addition of 0.4 g SBA-15, and an Au loading of 1%, and under the reaction conditions of 100 ℃, a glycerol-to-Au ratio of 100:1, and a reaction time of 2 h, the catalyst achieves a glycerol conversion of 97.65% and a DHA selectivity of 90.47%, outperforming most catalysts reported so far. This work provides new insights for the efficient modification of CuO-based catalysts and the development of high-performance catalytic materials.