Molecular Understanding of Reactivity and Selectivity for Methanol Oxidation at the Au/TiO sub(2) Interface

Gold catalysis: Experimental and theoretical data demonstrated consistently that the interfacial sites on a Au/TiO sub(2) catalyst show both high reactivity and selectivity for low-temperature methanol oxidation with O sub(2) to give formaldehyde. The microscopic mechanism of this complex reaction has been unraveled in full molecular detail (see picture, gold cluster on TiO sub(2) surface).