8. Gold Catalysts Stability

Long-term stability of catalysts is required for industrial applications. One of the most important advantages with respect to gold catalysts is their stability in oxidizing atmospheres. Catalyst deactivation can be caused, however, by other reasons, such as catalyst surface reconstruction, leaching of the active phase, strong adsorption of organic molecules and poisoning by inorganic compounds. A few studies addressed stability of gold catalysts in biomass conversion. In carbohydrates oxidation gold catalysts demonstrated long-term stability, while catalyst deactivation due to the coke formation was observed in α-pinene isomerization. Complete catalyst regeneration was achieved by catalyst calcination at high temperature, although the same approach was not efficient in case of the lignan HMR oxidation.