Gold-palladium nanoparticles either in the form of colloids or supported nanoparticles have been extensively used as redox catalysts in recent years. These materials are very effective for the transformation of organic compounds to highly useful chemical products. The catalytic materials are usually prepared either using deposition-precipitation or impregnation techniques, but recently significant attention has been focused on the use of colloidal methods. Here we compare and contrast the preparation and catalytic reactivity of Au-Pd supported nanoparticles synthesised by impregnation, deposition-precipitation and colloidal methods. The catalyst materials have been evaluated for the oxidation of benzyl alcohol, as a model reaction. In addition, we have focused our attention on the utilisation of different types of reactors (autoclave versus glass reactors) and we now emphasise the possibility of using simplified types of reactors which have the advantage of significant cost savings and ease of application. (C) 2010 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.