The Active Site in Nanoparticle Gold Catalysis

Abstract
The catalysts currently used in automobile exhausts are inactive below 200ºC, so that most vehicle pollution occurs just after start-up. Low-temperature gold-based catalysts, in which gold nanoparticles are dispersed on an oxide support, provide a potential solution. In his Perspective, Campbell discusses new work by Chen and Goodman that takes an important step toward characterizing the active site of these gold-based catalysts.