Catalysis by Gold/Platinum Group Metals MIXED METAL SYSTEMS DISPLAYING INCREASED ACTIVITY

The recent surge of new interest in catalysis by gold (1-3) has led researchers to investigate the effects of adding other metals to the gold. As a result, there are a number of reactions with potential for industrial application where combinations of gold with a platinum group metal (pgm) have been shown to have advantages over either gold or the pgm alone. These findings are expected to lead to applications in chemical processing, pollution control and fuel cell applications. Here, a number of catalytic processes that have benefited from the synergy between a pgm and gold are described, and some interesting reports from recent conferences are highlighted.