Journal article
Catalytic activity of Au nanoparticles
Computational Atomic-scale Materials Design, Department of Physics, Technical University of Denmark1
Department of Physics, Technical University of Denmark2
Sustainable and Green Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, Technical University of Denmark3
Department of Chemistry, Technical University of Denmark4
Center for Nanoteknologi, Centers, Technical University of Denmark5
Au is usually viewed as an inert metal, but surprisingly it has been found that Au nanoparticles less than 3–5 nm in diameter are catalytically active for several chemical reactions. We discuss the origin of this effect, focusing on the way in which the chemical activity of Au may change with particle size.
We find that the fraction of low-coordinated Au atoms scales approximately with the catalytic activity, suggesting that atoms on the corners and edges of Au nanoparticles are the active sites. This effect is explained using density functional calculations.
Language: | English |
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Year: | 2007 |
Pages: | 14-18 |
ISSN: | 1878044x and 17480132 |
Types: | Journal article |
DOI: | 10.1016/S1748-0132(07)70113-5 |
ORCIDs: | Nørskov, Jens Kehlet |