Since the discovery of catalysis by Au nanoparticles
(NPs), unique
catalytic features of Au have appeared that are greatly different
from those of Pd and Pt. In this Review, we aimed to disclose how
the unique catalytic abilities of Au are generated with respect to
(a) the contact structures between Au and its supports and (b) the
size of the Au particles. For CO oxidation, the catalytic activity
of Au on reducible metal oxides (MO
x
)
is strongly correlated with the amount of oxygen vacancies of the
MO
x
surface, which play a key role in
O2 activation. Single atoms, bilayers of Au, sub-nm clusters,
clusters (1–2 nm), and NPs (2–5 nm) have been proposed
as the active sizes of the Au species, which may depend on the type
of support. For propylene epoxidation, the presence of isolated TiO4 units in SiO2 supports is important for the production
of propylene oxide (PO). Au NPs facilitate the formation of Ti–OOH
species, which leads to PO in the presence of H2 and O2, whereas Au clusters facilitate propylene hydrogenation.
However, Au clusters can produce PO by using only O2 and
water, whereas Au NPs cannot. For alcohol oxidation, the reducibility
of the MO
x
supports greatly influences
the catalytic activity of Au, and single Au atoms more effectively
activate the lattice oxygen of CeO2. The basic and acidic
sites of the MO
x
surface also play an
important role in the deprotonation of alcohols and the activation
of aldehydes, respectively. For selective hydrogenation, heterolytic
dissociation of H2 takes place at the interface between
Au and MO
x
, and the basic sites of MO
x
contribute to H2 activation.
Recent research into the reaction mechanisms and the development of
well-designed Au catalysts has provided new insights into the preparation
of high-performance Au catalysts.