Gold oxide formation on Au(111) under CO oxidation conditions at room temperature

Although gold-based catalysts are promising candidates for selective low-temperature CO oxidation, the reaction mechanism is not fully understood. On a Au(111) model catalyst, we observe the formation of gold oxide islands under exposure to atmospheric pressures of oxygen or CO oxidation reaction conditions in an in situ scanning tunneling microscope. The gold oxide formation is interpreted in line with the water-enabled dissociation of O₂ on the step edges of Au(111). Contaminants on the gold surface can strongly promote the gold oxide formation even on the terraces. On the other hand, TiO₂ nanoparticles on the Au(111) do not show any influence on the formation of the gold oxide and are thus not providing a significant amount of atomic oxygen to the gold at room temperature. Overall, the presence of gold oxide is likely under industrial conditions.