Advance in Selective Alcohol and Polyol Oxidation Catalysis

[Extract] The aerobic oxidation of organic molecules and in particular alcohols and bio-derived poly alcohols to value-added commodity molecules is under continuous investigation, due to the importance of oxidation products (aldehydes, ketones carboxylic acids and esters) and the challenging nature of this chemical transformation, since rather harsh reaction conditions (T > 100 °C) are needed to gain a significant substrate conversion [1,2,3]. The development of mainly robust heterogeneous catalysts, which are recyclable without the need of a regeneration step, is of utmost importance. In addition, the study of the synergistic effects between the catalytic metal-based reaction sites and the support is of utmost importance, since it paves the way for a tailored architecture of new catalysts with improved activity, selectivity and stability over time [4]. In the present Special Issue are collected six research articles focused mainly on the preparation and optimization of heterogeneous Au and Pt nanoparticle-based catalysts employed for aerobic alcohol oxidation. The main outcomes of the research articles included in this Special Issue are summarized as follows: [...]