Low-temperature catalytic oxidation of glycerol into glyceric acid over Zr@MCM-41-supported Pt catalyst

A series of mesoporous Zr@MCM-41 zeolites with different Si/Zr molar ratios were prepared using cetyltrimethylammonium bromide as a template. Pt nanoparticles were then successfully loaded onto the Zr@MCM-41 using a colloid-deposition method. These catalysts were evaluated for the catalytic oxidation of glycerol into glyceric acid at low temperature. The results showed that the molar ratios of the Si/Zr affected the oxidization of the primary OH group, in turn affecting the catalytic activity and selectivity. The Pt/Zr@MCM-41-100 catalyst showed the best catalytic activity, with the conversion of glycerol and selectivity for glyceric acid reaching 50.7% and 65.0%, respectively. The characterization result confirmed that the catalytic activity of Pt/Zr@MCM-41-100 was related to the support structure, the dispersion of the Pt nanoparticles, and the interaction between the Pt nanoparticles and the support. Meanwhile, we investigated the stability of the Pt/Zr@MCM-41-100 catalyst and analyzed the deactivation reasons using characterization.