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Catalytic Activation of a Solid Oxide in Electronic Contact With Gold Nanoparticles
Author(s) -
Behl Mayank,
Jain Prashant K.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
angewandte chemie
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1521-3757
pISSN - 0044-8249
DOI - 10.1002/ange.201409111
Subject(s) - oxide , catalysis , nanoparticle , reactivity (psychology) , chemistry , inorganic chemistry , organosulfur compounds , noble metal , inert , electron transfer , chemical engineering , materials science , photochemistry , nanotechnology , sulfur , organic chemistry , medicine , alternative medicine , pathology , engineering
Although inert in its bulk form, nanostructured gold supported on oxides has been found to be catalytically active. In many cases, the oxide promotes the activity of Au. It is now shown that in turn, nanoscale Au particles can chemically activate the solid oxide. Specifically, it was discovered that 4 nm Au nanoparticles deposited on zinc oxide catalyze the transformation of the oxide into the sulfide in the presence of an organosulfur species. Contact of the oxide with Au nanoparticles lowers the activation barrier for the solid‐state reaction by approximately 20 kJ mol −1 , allowing the reaction to be achieved closer to ambient temperatures. Electron transfer from oxygen vacancies to Au nanoparticles is proposed to generate acidic sites on the surface of the zinc oxide, resulting in the enhanced reactivity of the oxide. Knowledge of such electronic interactions between the noble metal and oxide can be exploited for engineering reactive heterostructures for low‐temperature pollutant sorption and hydrocarbon processing.