Balancing activity and stability in phenol oxidation via in situ H2O2 generation over Fe‐modified AuPd catalysts

Li, Rong-Jian, Lewis, Richard J., Morgan, David J. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6571-5731, Kitching, Ella, Slater, Thomas ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0372-1551 and Hutchings, Graham J. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8885-1560 2025. Balancing activity and stability in phenol oxidation via in situ H2O2 generation over Fe‐modified AuPd catalysts. ChemCatChem , e01264. 10.1002/cctc.202501264

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Abstract

Harnessing the in situ generation of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and associated reactive oxygen species (ROS) from molecular hydrogen (H2) and oxygen (O2) offers a powerful and sustainable alternative to conventional oxidative treatments for water purification. In this contribution, we explore the potential of AuPdFe‐based catalysts to achieve the in situ, oxidative degradation of phenol, a widely studied representative organic pollutant. By finely tuning the AuPd/Fe ratio, it is possible to balance H2O2 synthesis with Fe‐mediated ROS generation, achieving efficient phenol degradation and high selectivity toward deeply oxidized products. The optimized catalyst formulation outperforms its bimetallic counterpart by a factor of 10 in conversion efficiency. However, this enhanced activity comes at a cost, with the formation of strongly oxidized species such as formic, oxalic, and malonic acids resulting in the leaching of the active metal components, highlighting a critical trade‐off between catalytic performance and long‐term stability, particularly in the presence of highly concentrated chelating agents.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Published Online
Status:	In Press
Schools:	Research Institutes & Centres > Cardiff Catalysis Institute (CCI) Schools > Chemistry
Additional Information:	License information from Publisher: LICENSE 1: URL: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Publisher:	Wiley
ISSN:	1867-3880
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	24 September 2025
Date of Acceptance:	9 September 2025
Last Modified:	02 Oct 2025 08:11
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/181303

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