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Updated: Jun 23, 2026

Synthesis and Catalytic Performance of Gold Intercalated in the Walls of Mesoporous Silica
Published on: July 9, 2015
Increased dispersion of supported gold during methanol carbonylation conditions
Alexandre Goguet1, Christopher Hardacre, Ian Harvey
1CenTACat, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Queen's University, Belfast, BT9 5AG, UK.
Abstract:
The active site in supported gold catalysts for the carbonylation of methanol has been identified as dimers/trimers of gold which are formed from large gold particles >10 nm in diameter. Methyl iodide was found to be critical for this dispersion process and to maintain the catalyst in the active form. This study also shows that it may be possible to redisperse gold catalysts, in general, after reaction.
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