Electrochemical Molecular Conversion of α-Keto Acid to Amino Acid at a Low Overpotential Using a Nanoporous Gold Catalyst.

A nanoporous gold (NPG) electrode prepared through a facile anodization technique was employed in the electrochemical reductive amination of biomass-derivable α-keto acids in the presence of a nitrogen source to produce the corresponding amino acids. NPG showed a clear reductive current in the presence of α-keto acid and NHOH, and the electrolysis experiments confirmed the production of L-amino acid. A reductive voltammetric signal at the NPG electrode appeared at a more positive potential by 0.

Electrochemical Oxidation of Monosaccharides at Nanoporous Gold with Controlled Atomic Surface Orientation and Non-Enzymatic Galactose Sensing.

Non-enzymatic saccharide sensors are of great interest in diagnostics, but their non-selectivity limits their practical diagnostic abilities. In this study, we investigated the electrochemical oxidation of monosaccharides at nanoporous gold (NPG) catalysts with different contributions of surface crystallographic orientations. Fructose elicited no clear electrochemical response, but glucose, galactose, and mannose produced clear oxidative current.