Restructuring-induced activity of SiO(2)-supported large au nanoparticles in low-temperature CO oxidation

Large Au nanoparticles with an average size of approximately 10 nm supported on inert SiO(2) become active in low-temperature CO oxidation after the addition of NaNO(3). The catalyst structures have been characterized in detail by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray absorption spectroscopy. The NaNO(3) additive in Au/SiO(2) catalysts does not lead to the formation of fine Au nanoparticles, which are generally considered to be inevitable in low-temperature CO oxidation catalyzed by gold, nor does it alter the electronic structure of Au. The NaNO(3)-induced restructuring of large Au nanoparticles was proposed to create low-coordinated Au sites on the surface capable of catalyzing low-temperature CO oxidation. These results experimentally prove that the activity of supported Au nanoparticles in low-temperature CO oxidation could solely arise from their geometric structure, which greatly deepens the fundamental understandings of Au nanocatalysis.