Aerobic Oxidation of Glucose with Gold Catalyst: Hydrogen Peroxide as Intermediate and Reagent

Careful analytical determinations show that the gold-catalysed aerobic oxidation of glucose occurs through a two-electrons mechanism leading to gluconate and hydrogen peroxide. This latter decomposes before reaching the critical concentration for competing with O2 in glucose oxidation. A mechanism of glucose oxidation on gold nanoparticles is presented.