Aliphatic hydroxyl aldehydes that contain both an aldehyde
group and a hydroxyl group are widely used as precursors and
intermediates in organic synthesis. Among them, glycolaldehyde
is the smallest possible molecule and useful as an intermediate to
synthesize d,l-serine [1], vitamin B6 [2] and lactic acid [3], as well
as used as reducing agent [4] or probe molecule [5] in some special
synthesis. Thus, preparation of such compound has been developed
through various synthetic methods, including chemocatalysis and
biocatalysis.