Neutral Au1-Doped Cluster Catalysts AuTi2O3-6 for CO Oxidation by O2.

Oxide supported gold catalysts (e.g., Au/TiO2) are of great significance in heterogeneous catalysis owing to their extraordinary catalytic activity. Study of heteronuclear metal oxide clusters (HMOCs, e.g., Au xTi yO z q) is an important way to uncover the molecular-level mechanisms of gold catalysis in the related heterogeneous catalytic systems. However, the current studies of HMOCs are focused on charged clusters with little attention paid to neutral species. The reactivity study of neutral HMOCs is vital to have a comprehensive understanding of heterogeneous catalysis, but it is experimentally challenging because of the difficulty of cluster ionization and detection without fragmentation. Herein, benefiting from a homemade time-of-flight mass spectrometer coupled with a vacuum ultraviolet laser system, the reactivity of neutral Au1-doped titanium oxide clusters AuTi2O3-6 in catalytic CO oxidation by O2 has been successfully identified. The mechanistic details of the catalysis have been elucidated by quantum chemistry calculations. The crucial roles of the mobile AuCO species that can facilitate not only the process of CO oxidation but also the process of O2 activation have been discovered in the cluster catalysis. The fascinating results are of substantial importance to understand the mechanisms of CO oxidation over Au/TiO2, one type of the best studied gold catalysts.