Identification of single-site gold catalysis in acetylene hydrochlorination

Malta, G. et al. (2017) Identification of single-site gold catalysis in acetylene hydrochlorination. Science, 355(6332), pp. 1399-1403. (doi: 10.1126/science.aal3439) (PMID:28360324)

Abstract

There remains considerable debate over the active form of gold under operating conditions of a recently validated gold catalyst for acetylene hydrochlorination. We have performed an in situ x-ray absorption fine structure study of gold/carbon (Au/C) catalysts under acetylene hydrochlorination reaction conditions and show that highly active catalysts comprise single-site cationic Au entities whose activity correlates with the ratio of Au(I):Au(III) present. We demonstrate that these Au/C catalysts are supported analogs of single-site homogeneous Au catalysts and propose a mechanism, supported by computational modeling, based on a redox couple of Au(I)-Au(III) species. View Full Text

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Gibson, Dr Emma
• Authors: Malta, G., Kondrat, S. A., Freakley, S. J., Davies, C. J., Lu, L., Dawson, S., Thetford, A., Gibson, E. K., Morgan, D. J., Jones, W., Wells, P. P., Johnston, P., Catlow, C. R. A., Kiely, C. J., and Hutchings, G. J.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Chemistry
• Journal Name: Science
• Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science
• ISSN: 0036-8075
• ISSN (Online): 1095-9203
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2017 American Association for the Advancement of Science
• First Published: First published in Science 355(6332):1399-1403
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher