Trends in the Catalytic CO Oxidation Activity of Nanoparticles

Introduction While extended gold surfaces are generally considered chemically inert [1], nanosized (<5 nm) gold particles can be very effective catalysts for a number of oxidation reactions [2-5]. There are reports of similar size effects for silver catalysts [6]. The origin of the nano-effects in the catalytic properties of these metals is widely debated [5], and no consensus has been reached yet. Based on a set of density functional theory calculations we compare the catalytic activity for the CO oxidation reaction over extended surfaces and small nano-particles of a number of metals.