The liquid phase oxidation of cyclohexane was undertaken using Au/MgO and the reaction mechanism was investigated by means of continuous wave (CW) EPR spectroscopy employing the spin trapping technique. Activity tests aimed to determine the conversion and selectivity of Au/MgO catalyst showed that Au was capable of selectivity control to cyclohexanol formation up to 70%, but this was accompanie...

Hydrogenolysis and dehydrogenation of propane were studied over model nickel–gold catalysts. The supported model Ni–Au catalysts were prepared by depositing Ni and Au onto a planar silica film. Infrared reflection absorption spectroscopic data showed that isolated Ni sites appeared and became dominant on the surface with the addition of Au to Ni. For the conversion of propane in the presence of...

Acetoxylation of ethylene to vinyl acetate (VA) was used to investigate the mechanism of the promotional effect of gold (Au) in a palladium (Pd)-Au alloy catalyst. The enhanced rates of VA formation for low Pd coverages relative to high Pd coverages on Au single-crystal surfaces demonstrate that the critical reaction site for VA synthesis consists of two noncontiguous, suitably spaced, Pd monom...

Well-defined surface, such as surface of a single crystal, is being used to provide precise interpretation of catalytic processes, while the nanoparticulate model catalyst more closely represents the real catalysts that are used in industrial processes. Nanocrystal superlattice, which combines the chemical and physical properties of different materials in a single crystalline structure, is an i...

The sol immobilisation technique, in which a stabilising ligand (such as polyvinyl alcohol or polyvinyl pyridine) can be used to tune metal particle size and composition, has become a valuable method of making supported nanoparticle catalysts. An unfortunate consequence of the stabilising ligand is that often access of reactant molecules to the metal nanoparticle surface is impeded. Several met...

A new class of chiral bifunctional heterogeneous materials composed of Au/Pd nanoparticles and chiral phosphoric acids as active orthogonal catalysts was prepared by utilizing a facile pseudo-suspension co-polymerization method. It was found that this heterogeneous catalyst was capable of facilitating the sequential aerobic oxidation-asymmetric intramolecular aza-Friedel-Crafts reaction between...

A new class of chiral bifunctional heterogeneous materials composed of Au/Pd nanoparticles and chiral phosphoric acids as active orthogonal catalysts was prepared by utilizing a facile pseudo-suspension copolymerization method. It was found that this heterogeneous catalyst was capable of facilitating the sequential aerobic oxidation-asymmetric intramolecular aza-Friedel–Crafts reaction between ...

Aiming at model systems with close-to-realistic transport properties, we have prepared and studied planar Au/TiO(2) thin-film model catalysts consisting of a thin mesoporous TiO(2) film of 200-400 nm thickness with Au nanoparticles, with a mean particle size of ~2 nm diameter, homogeneously distributed therein. The systems were prepared by spin-coating of a mesoporous TiO(2) film from solutions...

Nearly monodispersed Au(38)(SC(12)H(25))(24) clusters (1.7 ± 0.2 nm) were synthesized using a modified Brust process while utilizing a "thiol etching" approach for the ligand exchange. HRTEM, MALDI, FTIR, and XAS analysis confirmed the formation of the 38-atom clusters in solution. This solution was used to impregnate a microporous TiO(2) support to give 0.7% Au(38)/TiO(2) catalyst. Subsequent ...

We report the effect of gold precursor and reaction conditions on the catalytic activity of gold-alumina catalysts prepared by the sol–gel process. Gold catalysts prepared by the sol–gel method were found to be the most active catalysts ever reported in the literature. We found out that the final activity of Au on alumina was a strong function of the gold loading, the gold precursor and an acti...