Abstract
Pt supported on KOH‐activated mesoporous carbon (K‐AMC) was used to catalyze glycerol oxidation under base‐free conditions at room temperature. To study the relationship between the carbon surface chemistry and the catalytic performance of the K‐AMC‐based Pt catalysts, different levels of surface oxygen functional groups (SOFGs) on the AMC supports were induced by thermal treatment at different temperatures under inert or H2 gas. A strong effect of the surface chemistry was observed on AMC‐supported Pt catalysts for glycerol oxidation. The presence of carboxylic acid groups impedes the adsorption of glycerol, which leads to the reduction of catalytic activity, whereas the presence of high‐desorption‐temperature SOFGs, such as phenol, ether, and carbonyl/quinone groups, provide hydrophilicity to the carbon surface that improves the adsorption of glycerol molecules on Pt metal surface, which is beneficial for the catalytic activity.
Strong support: Pt catalysts supported on KOH‐activated mesoporous carbon show a high catalytic activity and stability for glycerol oxidation to glyceric acid under base‐free conditions. The high catalytic performance is caused by the introduction of surface oxygen functional groups on the carbon supports by KOH activation and then careful control of the surface chemistry with heating.