Faraday Discussion 152: Gold

Topics: Inorganic Chemistry, Materials Science, Physical Chemistry, Surface Chemistry, Keywords: Gold, Catalysis, Materials Science

Date: /4/5/6/ July 2011, Cardiff, United Kingdom, Europe

Web Site, Contact: events@rsc.org

  

Official Information:

Gold has been a topic that has fascinated mankind for millennia. It is the most noble of metals; it does not tarnish on exposure to air. However, until recently, gold has presented very little fascination for chemists, as its chemical inertness as a bulk metal appeared to provide very limited opportunities to open up new and exciting chemistries. It was almost as though the fact that gold is the most noble of metals precluded anyone from really searching for new interesting discoveries.

Gold catalysis provides a link between model systems that can be produced by materials and surface scientists, probed by theoreticians and the real systems used in catalyst discovery. The newly-discovered chemistry of gold can be used to gain a deeper understanding of catalysis, and how materials can be synthesized and stabilized at the nanoscale.

The precise nature of the active sites and the mechanisms of the catalysed reactions of gold are as yet unknown. This meeting will focus on the origins of high catalytic activity observed with gold nanoparticles. The aim is to bring together the catalysis and surface science communities with materials scientists and theoreticians, so that new insights can be gained.

Themes:

• Gold catalysis at the gas solid interface
• Gold catalysis and materials science
• Theoretical insights on gold catalysis
• Gold catalysis and enhanced selectivity