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Graphical abstract In-situ coating of SBA-15 with MgO was synthesized in one-step procedure to form the mesoporous solid bases. Then, the Pt nanoparticles were loaded by NaBH 4 reduction method. Subsequently, the Pt/MgO-SBA-15 catalyst was applied to the selective oxidation of glycerol to obtain C 3 products. Highlights • Novel hybrid Pt/MgO/SBA-15 catalysts were prepared. • The Pt nanoparticles was restricted in the channel of MgO/SBA-15. • The synergistic effect between Pt and MgO enhanced glycerol oxidation activity. • Oxygen active sites of MgO promoted the dehydrogenation reaction. Abstract Enhanced metal-support interaction is the key for selective oxidation of glycerol to value-added carboxylic acids. However, the rational control of interfacial properties still remains a significant challenge. In this work, we prepared hybrid Pt/MgO/SBA-15 catalysts for the facile oxidation of glycerol to glyceric acid in the absence of liquid alkalis. It was found that the confinement effect of SBA-15 leads to restricted Pt nanoparticles in the MgO/SBA-15 channel with a unique "strip" shape. Such a morphology and the strong electron coupling effect between Pt and MgO species synergistically enhanced glycerol oxidation over Pt-MgO sites. A volcanic-shaped relationship between Mg/Si ratio and catalytic performance was established experimentally, and the Pt/MgO/SBA-15 (0.1) catalyst showed excellent combined selectivity for C 3 products (glyceric acid, glyceraldehyde and dihydroxyacetone) with a remarkable turn over frequency (TOF) of 1671.2 h−1 higher than the reported catalysts under base-free conditions. Furthermore, density functional theory (DFT) calculations confirmed that the oxidation reaction could be promoted by oxygen defects of MgO sites, resulting in a reduction of the energy barriers for C H and O H activation. These insights may provide a new way to the supported solid base catalyst design and mechanistic study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]