Methanobactin‐mediated synthesis of bimetallic Au–Pd/Al 2 O 3 toward an efficient catalyst for glucose oxidation

A green bioreductive approach with methanobactin was adopted to fabricate bimetallic Au–Pd/Al 2 O 3 catalysts for solvent‐free oxidation of glucose to gluconic acid with H 2 O 2 at atmospheric pressure. The catalyst was characterised by diffuse reflectance UV–vis spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and X‐ray diffraction techniques to understand synergistic interactions between Au and Pd. Effects of Au to Pd molar ratio on the catalytic activity of Au–Pd/Al 2 O 3 were investigated. The Au–Pd/Al 2 O 3 catalyst with Au/Pd molar ratio of 0.8:0.2 exhibited excellent catalytic performance. With the catalyst, the oxidation activities of glucose to gluconic acid 2856 mmol min −1 g −1 and selectivity 99.6% were attained at 323 K with H 2 O 2 . The results indicated the activity and selectivity was affected by the ratio of Au/Pd on the Al 2 O 3 . The formation of Au 0.8 Pd 0.2 /Al 2 O 3 was favourable for the catalytic reaction.