Oxidation of a tensidic alcohol to its corresponding carboxylic acid <b><i>via</i></b> Au catalysts

Abstract

Abstract The oxidation of the fatty‐alcohol ethoxylate GENAPOL LA 050 to its corresponding ether carboxylic acid using supported Au catalysts under mild aerobic conditions in aqueous alkaline solution was investigated. Screening of different metal oxide supports and several preparation methods yielded an assortment of highly selective catalysts with varying activities. AEROXIDE® TiO 2 P25 turned out to be the most suitable support and deposition‐precipitation with urea emerged as the best‐suited preparation method. Further experiments with this catalyst displayed the dependency of the catalytic activity on reaction parameters such as temperature, pressure and reactant/catalyst ratio. The long‐term stability study of this particular catalyst in repeated batches revealed catalyst deactivation by Au particle agglomeration due to intermediate Au leaching under the reaction conditions.