Particle size-dependent TiO2 coverage on Au for efficient H2O2 decomposition toward fatty alcohol selective oxidation

The selective oxidation of fatty alcohol to fatty acid serves a green pathway for synthesis of fine chemical raw materials, while sluggish H 2 O 2 decomposition into reactive hydroxyl radical ( OH) greatly limits the improvement of oxidation activity. Herein, we successfully constructed a tunable Au-TiO 2 interface to promote H 2 O 2 decomposition for enhanced oxidation of fatty alcohols to acids. By regulating the particle size of TiO 2 supports, different coverage states of TiO 2 layer on Au particles are obtained in the Au/TiO 2 catalyst. Specifically, Au/TiO 2 with partial coverage exhibits electronic reconstructed Au δ− -O V -Ti structure, where the Au δ− facilitates the H 2 O 2 barrierless decomposition into OH and O V -Ti synergistically promotes the adsorption and activation of fatty alcohol. Optimized Au/TiO 2 catalyst shows a record high 69.7% 2-Ethyl-1-hexanol conversion and 75.6% 2-Ethylhexanoic acid selectivity, suppressing reported catalysts in 2-Ethyl-1-hexanol oxidation. This work supplies guidance for the design of highly efficient supported catalysts with superior H 2 O 2 utilization ability.