Surface Science Investigations of Oxidative Chemistry on Gold

Because of gold's resistance to oxidation and corrosion, historically chemists have considered this metal inert. However, decades ago, researchers discovered that highly dispersed gold particles on metal oxides are highly chemically active, particularly in low-temperature CO oxidations. These seminal findings spurred considerable interest in investigations and applications of gold-based materials. Since the discovery of gold's chemical activity at the nanoscale, researchers found that bulk gold also has interesting catalytic properties. Thus, it is important to understand and contrast the intrinsic chemical properties of bulk gold with those of nanoparticle Au. Despite numerous studies, the structure and active site of supported Au nanoclusters and the active oxygen species remain elusive, and model studies under well-controlled conditions could help identify these species. The {111} facet has the lowest surface energy and is the most stable and prevalent configuration of most supported gold nanoparticles. Therefore, a molecular-level understanding of the physical properties and surface chemistry of Au(111) could provide mechanistic details regarding the nature of Au-based catalysts and lead to improved catalytic processes. This Account focuses on our current understanding of oxidative chemistry on well-defined gold single crystals, predominantly from recent investigations on Au(111) that we have performed using modern surface science techniques. Our model system strategy allows us to control reaction conditions, which assists in the identification of reaction intermediates, the determination of the elementary reaction steps, and the evaluation of reaction energetics for rate-limiting steps. We have employed temperature-programmed desorption (TPD), molecular beam reactive scattering (MBRS), and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) to evaluate surface oxidative chemistry. In some cases, we have combined these results with density functional theory (DFT) calculations. By controlling the reaction parameters that determine product selectivity, we have examined the chemical properties of bulk gold. Based on our investigations, the surface-bound oxygen atoms are metastable at low temperature. We also demonstrate that the oxygen atoms and formed hydroxyls are responsible for some of the distinct chemical behavior of gold and participate in surface reactions either as a Bronsted base or a nucleophilic base. We observe similar reaction patterns on gold surfaces to those on copper and silver surfaces, suggesting that the add-base reactions that have been observed on copper and silver may also occur on gold. Our model chemical studies on gold surfaces have provided intrinsic fundamental insights into high surface area gold-based catalysts and the origin of the reactive oxygen species.