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M. Latschka, A. Nagl, J. De Vrieze, S. Mostrou-Moser, J. Bokhoven van, M. Saeys, K. Föttinger:
"KINETIC STUDIES ON BIMETALLIC Au CATALYSTS: INFLUENCE OF WATER";
in: "Vienna Young Scientists Symposium", Book-of-Abstracts.com / D.I. Krebs, Gumpoldskirchen, 2019, ISBN: 978-3-9504017-9-0, S. 106 - 107.

Acetaldehyde is an important base chemical, at present it is mainly produced by the
Wacker-Hoechst process, which requires petrochemical starting materials. Acetaldehyde can also be
made by the oxidation of ethanol and ethanol can be produced renewably from biomass[1].
Normally gold is catalytically very inactive, but when the gold particles have a small diameter like
below 30 nm, the catalytic activity is getting much better for a number of reactions. Then also
oxygen can absorb on the gold surface even at room temperature. The catalytic activity of the gold
catalyst per unit surface area for CO oxidation is about 100 times better when the gold is on a TiO2
support as for the pure gold particles[2].
Therefore, supported gold nanoparticles have been studied as catalysts for the oxidation of alcohols
to aldehydes with oxygen in the gas phase. When the reaction takes place in an aqueous solution the
corresponding carbon acid is formed instead of the aldehyde[3]. The reason why the acetaldehyde is
further oxidized to acetic acid only in the liquid phase reaction has not yet been determined.
When two metals are combined in a catalyst, the advantages of both individual metals can appear.
However, also a synergistic effect can occur resulting in new functionalities of the catalyst[4].