Plant-mediated biosynthesized Au/CuO catalysts for efficient glycerol oxidation to 1,3-dihydroxyacetone: effect of biomass component on catalytic activity†

The oxidation of glycerol to dihydroxyacetone (DHA) represents an efficient and economical process route. Although preparing Au/CuO catalysts from plant constituents has emerged as a novel approach for synthesizing biocompatible products, the complexity of plant constituents means that the active components still need to be clarified, making it challenging to control catalytic activity. In this study, we effectively separated and identified the active components of Syringa oblata Lindl. (SoL) leaf using column chromatography, and synthesized a series of Au/CuO catalysts from the different separated samples. Glycerol catalytic evaluation experiments showed that the S3 fraction, mainly consisting of phenolic substances, exhibited the highest catalytic activity, with a glycerol conversion rate of 86.6% and DHA selectivity of 82.0%, exceeding the activity of most current catalysts. A series of experiments and characterizations demonstrated the differences in reducibility and protective ability among the separated samples, and the preparation and glycerol reaction conditions for optimal performance are systematically optimized. This work provides in-depth insights into the preparation of catalysts using plant-based methods.