XPS study of supported gold catalysts: the role of Au ⁰ and Au ^+δ species as active sites

Abstract Gold nanoparticles supported on different oxides (SiO 2 , CeO 2 and TiO 2 ) were prepared by the SMAD (solvated metal atom dispersion) and deposition–precipitation (DP) techniques. The physical and chemical characterization of the catalysts was performed by X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and X‐ray diffraction (XRD) and the catalytic activity was tested during the reaction of low temperature CO oxidation. The structural and surface analyses evidenced the presence of small gold crystallites (cluster size ∼2–5 nm) in all the SMAD‐prepared samples and oxidized gold species in the case of the DP catalysts. A different surface distribution of ionic gold species was found on the different supports. By comparing the catalytic activities of the samples, the presence of Au +1 species seems to be the main requisite for the achievement of the highest CO conversion at the lowest temperature. The higher activity of Au/CeO 2 (DP) catalysts at T ≈ 250 K can be ascribed to a better stabilization of the AuO − species by the cerium oxide. Nanosized metallic gold particles exhibit a worse catalytic performance, both on ‘reducible’ and ‘inert’ supports, being significantly active only in the temperature range: 400–600 K. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.