Interaction and reactivity of water on O-covered Au(111)

COLL 225

Ryan G. Quiller, quiller@fas.harvard.edu1, Thomas A. Baker, tabaker@fas.harvard.edu2, Weiwei Gao, wgao@fas.harvard.edu2, and Cynthia M. Friend, cfriend@deas.harvard.edu3. (1) School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Mallinckrodt B22, 12 Oxford St., Cambridge, MA 02138, (2) Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, 12 Oxford St., Cambridge, MA 02138, (3) Department of Chemistry & School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, 12 Oxford St., Cambridge, MA 02138
Water is considered to play a crucial role in gold catalyzed oxidation reactions including the oxidation of CO and olefins. However, little is known concerning the active form of water and the water-mediated reaction mechanisms in gold catalysis. In this work propene and styrene partial oxidation on an extended Au(111) surface were used as a model system. Temperature programmed reaction spectroscopy and infrared spectroscopy were used to study the role of water on the oxidation reactions. It was found that for an O-covered Au(111) surface the presence of water will lead to the formation of hydroxyl groups and affect product distribution and reaction selectivity. Our results provide further understanding of how water can facilitate the activity of gold as a heterogeneous catalyst.
 

Fundamental Research in Colloid and Surface Chemistry
6:00 PM-8:00 PM, Monday, August 20, 2007 BCEC -- East Registration, Poster

Division of Colloid & Surface Chemistry

The 234th ACS National Meeting, Boston, MA, August 19-23, 2007