Although nanoparticulate gold possesses remarkable catalytic activity towards oxidation reactions, catalytic activity usually cannot be observed in particles larger than 5 nm. Atomic insights into dealloyed nanoporous gold catalysts by transmission electron microscopy now demonstrate that surface defects are active sites for the catalytic oxidation of carbon monoxide and that residual silver stabilizes atomic steps.
- Takeshi Fujita
- Pengfei Guan
- Mingwei Chen