Application of gold in the field of heterogeneous catalysis

TL;DR

This paper reviews the evolving role of gold as an effective heterogeneous catalyst, highlighting key reactions, chemical insights, and future design perspectives in catalysis research.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of gold's catalytic applications, focusing on model reactions and future catalyst design strategies.

Findings

Gold is an effective catalyst for CO oxidation and selective oxidation.

Chemical nature of gold as a catalyst is analyzed.

Future perspectives for designing improved gold catalysts are discussed.

Abstract

Gold has been long thought as an inert metal which finds most of its use in jewelry and monetary exchange. However, catalysis by gold has rapidly become a hot topic in chemistry ever since Haruta and Hutchings found gold to be an extraordinary good heterogeneous catalyst in certain reactions. Here in this paper, several model reactions which made gold historically famous as a catalyst and a currently hot topic will be demonstrated, such as oxidation of CO, selective oxidation, and hydrodechlorination. Conclusions on the chemical nature of gold will be made as well as future perspectives of designing gold as a better catalyst.