Carbon monoxide low-temperature oxidation over nanosize gold catalyst

Gold has long been known as being catalytically inactive. However, more interest and attention have been concentrated on the research and development of gold catalysts in recent years. Gold catalysts have been shown good catalytic performances, especially for CO oxidation, and can be used to eliminate CO even below ambient temperature. Compared with other catalysts for CO oxidation, the nanosize gold catalysts have superior catalytic behaviors, such as high catalytic activity, high catalytic stability and high resistance to moisture, and show a continuously increasing and more extensive application prospects. In this review, the preparation factors such as preparation method, supports particle size, pretreatment condition were summarized. The activation and reaction mechanisms were discussed.