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Updated: Mar 30, 2026
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Synthesis and Catalytic Performance of Gold Intercalated in the Walls of Mesoporous Silica
Published on: July 9, 2015
10.7K
Evidence for a surface gold hydride on a nanostructured gold catalyst
I P Silverwood1, S M Rogers, S K Callear
1UK Catalysis Hub, Research Complex at Harwell, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot, Oxon OX11 0FA, UK.
Chemical Communications (Cambridge, England)
|November 5, 2015
Summary
Inelastic neutron scattering revealed a surface gold-hydride (Au-H) species crucial for understanding catalysis. This finding corrects previous interpretations of infrared data, showing it was not solely a cerium(3+) transition.
Area of Science:
- Surface science
- Catalysis
- Materials science
Background:
- Understanding catalytic mechanisms requires precise identification of surface species.
- Previous infrared spectroscopy studies suggested a cerium(3+) transition was responsible for a key spectral feature.
- The exact nature of surface species involved in catalytic reactions remains an active area of research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify the surface species formed during catalytic reduction.
- To re-evaluate previous assignments of infrared spectral features.
- To elucidate the role of surface species in catalytic processes.
Main Methods:
- Inelastic neutron scattering (INS) was employed to probe surface species.
- Catalyst reduction was performed using hydrogen and deuterium.
- Infrared (IR) spectroscopy data was re-analyzed in light of new findings.
Main Results:
- Inelastic neutron scattering directly observed the formation of a surface Au-H species.
- The study demonstrates that the previously assigned infrared feature is not exclusively a Ce(3+) transition.
- Deuterium and hydrogen reduction experiments provided crucial comparative data.
Conclusions:
- The formation of a surface Au-H species is confirmed and identified as critical for catalytic mechanisms.
- Previous interpretations of infrared data attributing a feature solely to Ce(3+) are incorrect.
- This work refines the understanding of surface species involved in cerium-based catalysis.
