Note to users. If you're seeing this message, it means that your browser cannot find this page's style/presentation instructions -- or possibly that you are using a browser that does not support current Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing, and what you can do to make your experience of our site the best it can be.

Site Tools

  • AAAS
  • Subscribe
  • Feedback

Site Search

Search Advanced

Science 14 December 2007:
Vol. 318. no. 5857, pp. 1757 - 1760
DOI: 10.1126/science.1150038
Prev | Table of Contents | Next

Reports

Activity of CeOx and TiOx Nanoparticles Grown on Au(111) in the Water-Gas Shift Reaction

J. A. Rodriguez,1* S. Ma,1 P. Liu,2 J. Hrbek,1 J. Evans,3 M. Pérez3

The high performance of Au-CeO2 and Au-TiO2 catalysts in the water-gas shift (WGS) reaction (H2O + CO->H2 + CO2) relies heavily on the direct participation of the oxide in the catalytic process. Although clean Au(111) is not catalytically active for the WGS, gold surfaces that are 20 to 30% covered by ceria or titania nanoparticles have activities comparable to those of good WGS catalysts such as Cu(111) or Cu(100). In TiO2-x/Au(111) and CeO2-x/Au(111), water dissociates on O vacancies of the oxide nanoparticles, CO adsorbs on Au sites located nearby, and subsequent reaction steps take place at the metal-oxide interface. In these inverse catalysts, the moderate chemical activity of bulk gold is coupled to that of a more reactive oxide.

1 Chemistry Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973, USA.
2 Center for Functional Nanomaterials, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973, USA.
3 Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Central de Venezuela, Caracas, 1020-A Venezuela.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: rodrigez{at}bnl.gov

Read the Full Text

ADVERTISEMENT
Click Me!

ADVERTISEMENT
Click Me!

To Advertise     Find Products

Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)