Selective oxidation of glycerol to lactic acid under acidic conditions using AuPd/TiO2 catalyst

The selective oxidation of glycerol was investigated using AuPd/TiO 2 as the catalyst in the presence of AlCl 3 , and lactic acid was obtained as the predominant product. It was demonstrated that AuPd/TiO 2 and AlCl 3 played synergistic roles in the production of lactic acid. The possible reaction pathway was proposed, in which glycerol was first oxidized to glyceraldehyde and dihydroxyacetone, catalysed by AuPd/TiO 2 , followed by the formation of lactic acid, catalyzed by AlCl 3 . The production of lactic acid from glycerol under acidic conditions was achieved via selective oxidation of glycerol catalysed by AuPd/TiO 2 combined with AlCl 3 .