Premium
When Gold Is Not Noble: Catalysis by Nanoparticles
Author(s) -
Haruta Masatake
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
the chemical record
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.61
H-Index - 78
eISSN - 1528-0691
pISSN - 1527-8999
DOI - 10.1002/tcr.10053
Subject(s) - catalysis , inert , reactivity (psychology) , noble metal , colloidal gold , materials science , nanoparticle , particle (ecology) , chemical engineering , particle size , nanotechnology , metal , metal particle , carbon fibers , inorganic chemistry , chemistry , metallurgy , organic chemistry , composite material , medicine , alternative medicine , oceanography , pathology , geology , engineering , composite number
Bulk gold is chemically inert and is generally regarded as a poor catalyst. However, when gold is in very small particles with diameters below 10 nm and is deposited on metal oxides or activated carbon, it becomes surprisingly active, especially at low temperatures, for many reactions such as CO oxidation and propylene epoxidation. The catalytic performance of Au is defined by three major factors: contact structure, support selection, and particle size. The role of the perimeter interfaces of Au particles as the sites for reactions is discussed as well as the change in chemical reactivity of Au clusters composed of fewer than 300 atoms. © 2003 The Japan Chemical Journal Forum and Wiley Periodicals, Inc., Chem Rec 3: 75–87; 2003: Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com) DOI 10.1002/tcr.10053