Structure and Surface Chemistry of Gold-Based Model Catalysts

A study was conducted to investigate structure and surface chemistry of gold-based model catalysts. The study started with an overview of surface structures and electronic properties of various gold (Au) single-crystal surfaces. It examined adsorption phenomena on Au macroscopic crystalline surfaces under the investigations. Investigations revealed that gold crystallized as a face-centered cubic (fcc) structure where three low Miller indexed surfaces, such as 100, 110, and 111 were considered. The 111 facet of gold had the lowest surface energy among other surfaces, as reflected in the growing tendency for thin film in the [111] direction. It had the highest ductility and malleability of any element, and was the only metal for which the close-packed surface of an fcc crystal had been observed to reconstruct, which was attributed to relativistic effects in the large electronic core of gold.