Kinetics of CO oxidation on high-concentration phases of atomic oxygen on Pt(111)

Temperature-programmed reaction spectroscopy (TPRS) and direct, isothermal reaction-rate measurements were employed to investigate the oxidation of CO on Pt(111) covered with high concentrations of atomic oxygen. The TPRS results show that oxygen atoms chemisorbed on Pt(111) at coverages just above 0.25 ML (monolayers) are reactive toward coadsorbed CO, producing CO(2) at about 295 K. The uptake of CO on Pt(111) is found to decrease with increasing oxygen coverage beyond 0.25 ML and becomes immeasurable at a surface temperature of 100 K when Pt(111) is partially covered with Pt oxide domains at oxygen coverages above 1.5 ML. The rate of CO oxidation measured as a function of CO beam exposure to the surface exhibits a nearly linear increase toward a maximum for initial oxygen coverages between 0.25 and 0.50 ML and constant surface temperatures between 300 and 500 K. At a fixed CO incident flux, the time required to reach the maximum reaction rate increases as the initial oxygen coverage is increased to 0.50 ML. A time lag prior to the reaction-rate maximum is also observed when Pt oxide domains are present on the surface, but the reaction rate increases more slowly with CO exposure and much longer time lags are observed, indicating that the oxide phase is less reactive toward CO than are chemisorbed oxygen atoms on Pt(111). On the partially oxidized surface, the CO exposure needed to reach the rate maximum increases significantly with increases in both the initial oxygen coverage and the surface temperature. A kinetic model is developed that reproduces the qualitative dependence of the CO oxidation rate on the atomic oxygen coverage and the surface temperature. The model assumes that CO chemisorption and reaction occur only on regions of the surface covered by chemisorbed oxygen atoms and describes the CO chemisorption probability as a decreasing function of the atomic oxygen coverage in the chemisorbed phase. The model also takes into account the migration of oxygen atoms from oxide domains to domains with chemisorbed oxygen atoms. According to the model, the reaction rate initially increases with the CO exposure because the rate of CO chemisorption is enhanced as the coverage of chemisorbed oxygen atoms decreases during reaction. Longer rate delays are predicted for the partially oxidized surface because oxygen migration from the oxide phase maintains high oxygen coverages in the coexisting chemisorbed oxygen phase that hinder CO chemisorption. It is shown that the time evolution of the CO oxidation rate is determined by the relative rates of CO chemisorption and oxygen migration, R(ad) and R(m), respectively, with an increase in the relative rate of oxygen migration acting to inhibit the reaction. We find that the time lag in the reaction rate increases nearly exponentially with the initial oxygen coverage [O](i) (tot) when [O](i) (tot) exceeds a critical value, which is defined as the coverage above which R(ad)R(m) is less than unity at fixed CO incident flux and surface temperature. These results demonstrate that the kinetics for CO oxidation on oxidized Pt(111) is governed by the sensitivity of CO binding and chemisorption on the atomic oxygen coverage and the distribution of surface oxygen phases.     

Reactivity of molecularly chemisorbed oxygen on a Au/TiO2 model catalyst

We present results of an investigation into the reactivity of molecularly chemisorbed oxygen with CO on a Au/TiO2 model catalyst at 77 K. We previously discovered that exposing the model catalyst sample to a radio-frequency-generated plasma jet of oxygen results in co-population of both atomically and molecularly chemisorbed oxygen species on the sample. We tested the reactivity of the molecularly chemisorbed oxygen by comparing the CO2 produced from a sample populated with both species to the CO2 produced from a sample that has been cleared of molecularly chemisorbed oxygen employing collision-induced desorption. Samples that are populated with both species consistently result in greater CO2 produced than samples with only atomic oxygen. We interpret this result to indicate that molecularly chemisorbed oxygen on the sample can directly participate in the CO oxidation reaction. The reactivity of molecularly chemisorbed oxygen has been investigated for five different gold coverages (0.5, 0.75, 1, 1.25, and 2 ML), and we observe that there is a greater fractional difference in the CO2 produced (difference between sample populated with both molecularly and atomically adsorbed oxygen and sample populated solely with atomically adsorbed oxygen) for the 1 ML Au coverage than for the other coverages for equivalent oxygen plasma-jet exposures. However, it is not possible to unambiguously conclude that this observation is directly related to a particle size effect on the chemistry since the absolute O(2,a) and O(a) content on the various surfaces is different for all the coverages studied because of the plasma-jet technique that we employed for populating the surfaces with oxygen. Unfortunately, this precludes a direct comparison of the reactivity of molecular oxygen in the carbon monoxide oxidation reaction as a function of gold coverage and hence particle size.     

O2和CO在Ni(111)表面的吸附活化

采用高分辨电子能量损失谱(HREELS)、俄歇电子能谱(AES)和低能电子衍射(LEED)研究镍单晶表面氧物种及CO与O₂的共吸附。实验结果表明,Ni(111)表面氧化后存在两种氧物种,位于54 meV能量损失峰的表面化学吸附氧物种和位于69 meV能量损失峰的表面氧化镍。首先,随着暴露氧量的增加,表面化学吸附氧物种的能量损失峰蓝移至58 meV;其次,通过真空退火及与CO相互作用考察,发现表面化学吸附氧物种较不稳定。在室温条件下,表面预吸附形成的表面化学吸附氧物种与CO共吸附,导致端位吸附CO增多,表明氧优先吸附在穴位上,随着CO暴露量的增加化学吸附氧物种与CO反应脱去;而表面氧化镍需在较高温度和较高CO分压下才能被CO还原。预吸附CO可被氧逐渐移去。     

Inhibition at perimeter sites of Au/TiO2 oxidation catalyst by reactant oxygen

TiO(2)-supported gold nanoparticles exhibit surprising catalytic activity for oxidation reactions compared to noble bulk gold which is inactive. The catalytic activity is localized at the perimeter of the Au nanoparticles where Au atoms are atomically adjacent to the TiO(2) support. At these dual-catalytic sites an oxygen molecule is efficiently activated through chemical bonding to both Au and Ti(4+) sites. A significant inhibition by a factor of 22 in the CO oxidation reaction rate is observed at 120 K when the Au is preoxidized, caused by the oxygen-induced positive charge produced on the perimeter Au atoms. Theoretical calculations indicate that induced positive charge occurs in the Au atoms which are adjacent to chemisorbed oxygen atoms, almost doubling the activation energy for CO oxidation at the dual-catalytic sites in agreement with experiments. This is an example of self-inhibition in catalysis by a reactant species.     

Cryogenic CO oxidation on TiO(2)-supported gold nanoclusters precovered with atomic oxygen

Bulk gold has long been regarded as a noble metal, having very low chemical and catalytic activity. However, metal oxide-supported gold particles, particularly those that are less than 5 nm in diameter, have been found to have remarkable catalytic properties. In this study we show that impinging gas-phase CO molecules react readily with oxygen adatoms preadsorbed on Au/TiO(2)(110) to produce CO(2) even under conditions in which the sample is cryogenically cooled. Gold particle size seems to have little effect on the CO oxidation reaction when oxygen adatoms are preadsorbed. We also show that as the oxygen adatom coverage increases, the rate of CO oxidation decreases on Au/TiO(2) at cryogenic temperatures.     

Pt（111）表面上一氧化碳的吸附与氧化反应

Ｐｔ（１１１）表面上一氧化碳的吸附与氧化反应１）刘金尧（清华大学一碳化工国家重点实验室北京１０００８４）ＸｕＭＺａｅｒａＦ（ＤｅｐａｒｔｍｅｎｔｏｆＣｈｅｍｉｓｔｒｙＵｎｉｖｅｒｓｉｔｙｏｆＣａｌｉｆｏｒｎｉａＲｉｖｅｒｓｉｄｅＣＡ９２５２１）关键词...     

Transient hydroxyl formation from water on oxygen-covered Au(111)

We present evidence for the formation of transient hydroxyls from the reaction of water with atomic oxygen on Au(111) and investigate the effect of adsorbed oxygen on the hydrogen bonding of water. Water is evolved in peaks at 175 and 195 K in temperature programed reaction experiments following adsorption of water on oxygen-covered Au(111). The peak at 175 K is ascribed to sublimation of multilayers of water, whereas the peak at 195 K is associated with oxygen-stabilized water or a water-hydroxyl surface complex. Infrared reflection absorption spectra are consistent with the presence of molecular water over the entire range of coverages studied, indicating that isolated stable hydroxyls are not formed. Isotopic exchange of adsorbed (16)O with H(2)(18)O following adsorption and subsequent temperature programed reaction, however, indicates that transient OH species are formed. The extent of oxygen exchange was considerable--up to 70%. The degree of oxygen exchange depends on the initial coverage of oxygen, the surface temperature when preparing oxygen adatoms, and the H(2)(18)O coverage. The hydroxyls are short-lived, forming and disproportionating multiple times before water desorption during temperature programed reaction. It was also found that chemisorbed oxygen is critical in the formation of hydroxyls and stabilizing water, whereas gold oxide does not contribute to these effects. These results identify transient hydroxyls as species that could play a critical role in oxidative chemical reactions on gold, especially in ambient water vapor. The crystallinity of adsorbed water also depended on the degree of surface ordering and chemical modification based on scanning tunneling microscopy and infrared spectra. These results demonstrate that oxidation of interfaces has a major impact on their interaction with water.     

Structure sensitivity in the oxidation of CO on Ir surfaces

We report results on the catalytic oxidation of carbon monoxide (CO) over clean Ir surfaces that are prepared reversibly from the same crystal in situ with different surface morphologies, from planar to nanometer-scale facets of specific crystal orientations and various sizes. Our temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) data show that both planar Ir(210) and faceted Ir(210) are very active for CO oxidation to form CO2. Preadsorbed oxygen promotes the oxidation of CO, whereas high coverages of preadsorbed CO poison the reaction by blocking the surface sites for oxygen adsorption. At low coverages of preadsorbed oxygen (< or = 0.3 ML of O), the temperature Ti for the onset of CO2 desorption decreases with increasing CO coverage. At high coverages of preadsorbed oxygen (> 0.5 ML of O), T(i) is < 330 K and is independent of CO coverage. Moreover, we find clear evidence for structure sensitivity in CO oxidation over clean planar Ir(210) versus that over clean faceted Ir(210): the CO2 desorption rate is sensitive to the surface morphological differences. However, no evidence has been found for size effects in CO oxidation over faceted Ir(210) for average facet size ranging from 5 to 14 nm. Energetically favorable binding sites for O/Ir(210) are characterized using density functional theory (DFT) calculations.     

Electrooxidation of carbon monoxide and methanol on platinum-overlayer-coated gold nanoparticles: effects of film thickness

The electrooxidation of carbon monoxide and methanol on Pt-coated Au nanoparticles attached to 3-aminopropyl trimethoxysilane-modified indium tin oxide electrodes was examined as a function of Pt film thickness and Au particle coverage. For the electrodes with medium and high Au particle coverages, the CO stripping peak position shifts to more negative values with increasing Pt film thickness, from ca. 0.8 V (vs Ag/AgCl) at 1 ML to 0.45 V at 10 ML. Accompanying this peak potential shift is the sharpening of the peak width from more than 150 to 65 mV. For the electrode with low Au particle coverage, similar peak width narrowing was also observed, but the peak potential shift is much smaller, from 0.85 V at 1 ML of Pt to 0.65 V at 10 ML. These observations are compared with the CO oxidation on bulk Pt electrodes and on Pt films deposited on bulk Au electrodes. The film-thickness-dependent CO oxidation is explained by d band theory in terms of strain and ligand effects, the particle size effect, and the particle aggregation induced by Pt film growth. Corresponding to the increasing CO oxidation activity, the current density of methanol oxidation grows with the Pt film thickness. The peak potential and current density reach the same values as those obtained on a polycrystalline bulk Pt electrode when more than 4 ML of Pt is deposited on the Au particle electrodes with a particle coverage higher than 0.25. These results suggest that it is feasible to reduce Pt loading in methanol fuel cells by using Pt thin films as the anode catalyst.     

In situ oxidation study of Pt(110) and its interaction with CO

Many interesting structures have been observed for O(2)-exposed Pt(110). These structures, along with their stability and reactivity toward CO, provide insights into catalytic processes on open Pt surfaces, which have similarities to Pt nanoparticle catalysts. In this study, we present results from ambient-pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, high-pressure scanning tunneling microscopy, and density functional theory calculations. At low oxygen pressure, only chemisorbed oxygen is observed on the Pt(110) surface. At higher pressure (0.5 Torr of O(2)), nanometer-sized islands of multilayered α-PtO(2)-like surface oxide form along with chemisorbed oxygen. Both chemisorbed oxygen and the surface oxide are removed in the presence of CO, and the rate of disappearance of the surface oxide is close to that of the chemisorbed oxygen at 270 K. The spectroscopic features of the surface oxide are similar to the oxide observed on Pt nanoparticles of a similar size, which provides us an extra incentive to revisit some single-crystal model catalyst surfaces under elevated pressure using in situ tools.     

In situ spectroscopic study of the oxidation and reduction of Pd(111)

Using a photoemission spectroscometer that operates close to ambient conditions of pressure and temperature we have determined the Pd-O phase diagram and the kinetic parameters of phase transformations. We found that on the (111) surface oxidation proceeds by formation of stable and metastable structures. As the chemical potential of O2 increases chemisorbed oxygen forms followed by a thin surface oxide. Bulk oxidation is a two-step process that starts with the metastable growth of the surface oxide into the bulk, followed by a first-order transformation to PdO.     

Enhanced low-temperature CO oxidation on a stepped platinum surface for oxygen pressures above 10(-5) Torr

The rate of CO oxidation has been characterized on the stepped Pt(411) surface for oxygen pressures up to 0.002 Torr, over the 100-1000 K temperature range. CO oxidation was characterized using both temperature-programmed reaction spectroscopy (TPRS) and in situ soft X-ray fluorescence yield near-edge spectroscopy (FYNES). New understanding of the important role surface defects play in accelerating CO oxidation for oxygen pressure above 10(-5) Torr is presented in this paper for the first time. For saturated monolayers of CO, the oxidation rate increases and the activation energy decreases significantly for oxygen pressures above 10(-5) Torr. This enhanced CO oxidation rate is caused by a change in the rate-limiting step to a surface reaction limited process above 10(-5) Torr oxygen from a CO desorption limited process at lower oxygen pressure. For example, in oxygen pressures above 0.002 Torr, CO(2) formation begins at 275 K even for the CO saturated monolayer, which is well below the 350 K onset temperature for CO desorption. Isothermal kinetic measurements in flowing oxygen for this stepped surface indicate that activation energies and preexponential factors depend strongly on oxygen pressure, a factor that has not previously been considered critical for CO oxidation on platinum. As oxygen pressure is increased from 10(-6) to 0.002 Torr, the oxidation activation energies for the saturated CO monolayer decrease from 24.1 to 13.5 kcal/mol for reaction over the 0.95-0.90 ML CO coverage range. This dramatic decrease in activation energy is associated with a simple increase in oxygen pressure from 10(-5) to 10(-3) Torr. Activation energies as low as 7.8 kcal/mol were observed for oxidation of an initially saturated CO layer reacting over the 0.4-0.25 ML coverage range in oxygen pressure of 0.002 Torr. These dramatic changes in reaction mechanism with oxygen pressure for stepped surfaces are consistent with mechanistic models involving transient low activation energy dissociation sites for oxygen associated with step sites. Taken together these experimental results clearly indicate that surface defects play a key role in increasing the sensitivity of CO oxidation to oxygen pressure.     

The study of the active surface for CO oxidation over supported Pd catalysts

CO oxidation was investigated on various powder oxide supported Pd catalysts by temperature-programmed reaction.The pre-reduced catalysts show significantly higher activities than the pre-oxidized ones.Model studies were performed to better understand the oxidation state,reactivities and stabilities of partially oxidized Pd surfaces under CO oxidation reaction conditions using an in situ infrared reflection absorption spectrometer(IRAS).Three O/Pd(100)model surfaces,chemisorbed oxygen covered surface,surface oxide and bulk-like surface oxide,were prepared and characterized by low-energy electron diffraction(LEED)and Auger electron spectroscopy(AES).The present work demonstrates that the oxidized palladium surface is less active for CO oxidation than the metallic surface,and is unstable under the reaction conditions with sufficient CO.     

CO oxidation mechanism on CeO(2)-supported Au nanoparticles

Density functional theory was used to study the CO oxidation catalytic activity of CeO(2)-supported Au nanoparticles (NPs). Experimental observations on CeO(2) show that the surface of CeO(2) is enriched with oxygen vacancies. We compare CO oxidation by a Au(13) NP supported on stoichiometric CeO(2) (Au(13)@CeO(2)-STO) and partially reduced CeO(2) with three vacancies (Au(13)@CeO(2)-3VAC). The structure of the Au(13) NP was chosen to minimize structural rearrangement during CO oxidation. We suggest three CO oxidation mechanisms by Au(13)@CeO(2): CO oxidation by coadsorbed O(2), CO oxidation by a lattice oxygen in CeO(2), and CO oxidation by O(2) bound to a Au-Ce(3+) anchoring site. Oxygen vacancies are shown to open a new CO oxidation pathway by O(2) bound to a Au-Ce(3+) anchoring site. Our results provide a design strategy for CO oxidation on supported Au catalysts. We suggest lowering the vacancy formation energy of the supporting oxide, and using an easily reducible oxide to increase the concentration of reduced metal ions, which act as anchoring sites for O(2) molecules.     

Simulation of the effect of surface-oxide formation on bistability in CO oxidation on Pt-group metals

The kinetics of CO oxidation on Pt-group metals are known to often exhibit bistability. During the low-reactive regime observed at relatively high CO pressure, the surface is primarily covered by CO and the reaction rate is controlled by O2 dissociation. During the high-reactive regime at relatively low CO pressure, in contrast, the surface is mainly covered by oxygen and the reaction rate is proportional to CO pressure. In the latter case, the adsorbed oxygen may be in the chemisorbed state and/or may form surface oxide. The experiments indicate that the formation of surface oxide often occurs via the island growth and accordingly should be described in terms of the theory of first-order phase transitions. Here, the author proposes a generic lattice-gas model satisfying this requirement and allowing one to execute the corresponding Monte Carlo simulations. Systematically varying the model parameters determining the oxide stability, he classifies the likely scenarios of the bistable reaction kinetics complicated by oxide formation.     

Au/Ag2O与Ag掺杂的Au粉催化剂上CO氧化反应：Au-Ag双金属催化剂活性位

有关用于各种氧化反应中Au-Ag双金属催化剂存在显著协同效应的来源有两种观点：(1) AgOx块与体相Au表面的接触界面起重要作用,体相Au的表面是催化活性位;(2) Au-Ag双金属催化剂中形成的Au-Ag合金中电荷从Ag转移到Au上,可能对催化剂活性起作用。因此,确定Au表面上Ag是以氧化物还是以金属合金形式存在可能是深度理解该协同效应的关键。
　　为了检测和验证催化剂活性的增加是由于Ag2O与Au纳米粒子的紧密接触,在密闭循环反应体系中比较研究了Au/Ag2O和Ag2O催化剂上CO氧化反应。将CO/O2摩尔比为2的混合气通入到这二个催化剂上来跟踪压力降低的速率。因而检测了气体的消耗量和CO2的生成量。结果发现,在稳态下Au/Ag2O和Ag2O催化剂的压力降低的速率不存在差别。这两个催化剂上压力的降低是由于Ag2O中表面晶格氧被混合气中CO的还原所致。 Au/Ag2O催化剂上得到的结果与以前研究的具有氧化表面的Ag掺杂的Au粉末(Ag/Au-b)上的一致,也表明AgOx块与体相Au表面界面周边不大可能是CO氧化反应催化活性位。基于具有稳态表面的Ag/Au-b样品上的研究结果,我们认为AgOx物种被还原为0价态Ag而形成的Ag-Au合金很可能是催化活性位。     

纳米金催化一氧化碳氧化反应的理论研究

近年来,纳米金催化剂独特的催化性质,特别是其优异的低温催化氧化活性,引起了人们极大的研究热情.除低温选择氧化外,在精细化学品合成、大气污染物消除、氢能的转换和利用等领域也开发出了一系列有广泛应用前景的金催化反应.此外,体相金的化学惰性和纳米金的超高活性之间差异的“鸿沟”也引起了理论工作者浓厚兴趣,试图从原理上理解体相金和纳米金活性差异的根源. CO催化氧化是最具有代表性的研究金催化活性的化学反应,本文主要综述了近十多年来金催化 CO氧化反应理论计算方面的研究工作.一般认为, CO在纳米金表面的吸附是 CO氧化反应的初始步骤.密度泛函理论研究表明, CO在金表面的吸附强度主要与被吸附金原子的配位数有关：金配位数越低, CO的吸附能越强,部分研究结果表明两者之间存在近似的线性关系.我们研究发现, CO吸附强度也与被吸附金周围配位金原子的相对位置有关,其中位于正下方的配位金原子加强 CO吸附,而位于侧位的配位金原子则弱化 CO吸附,这显然削弱了 CO吸附与金配位数线性关系的可靠性.理论研究表明,在纯金表
　　面上 O2吸附强度一般很弱,只有在一些特殊结构的金团簇上才有较强的吸附,但在 Au/TiO2界面及 CeO2表面上 O2吸附较强.金表面原子氧的吸附和金的表面结构有关.我们发现,原子氧倾向于在金的表面形成一种线性的 O–Au–O结构以增加其稳定性.当金表面的氧覆盖度增大时,会形成一种金氧化物薄膜结构,其结构依赖于氧的化学势和金的表面结构.纳米金催化 CO氧化反应机理可能因体系、载体等的差异而不同.大部分理论计算结果表明,在纯金表面上 O2很难直接解离形成原子氧,因此反应机理可能是吸附的 CO先与 O2反应形成了一种 CO–O2中间体,然后解离形成 CO2.在 Au/TiO2和 Au/CeO2催化剂上 CO催化氧化机理争议很大,均有计算结果支持 LH机理和 M–vK机理.另外,根据实验上观察到了负载型纳米金能直接活化分子氧的结果,理论上也提出了分子氧先解离为原子氧再与 CO反应的氧解离机理.针对如何解离分子氧问题,人们分别提出了低配位金模型、正方形金结构模型、Ti5c模型及 Au/Ti5c模型等.我们也提出了一种独特的双直线 O–Au–O模型来理解 Au/TiO2或 Au/CeO2界面解离活化分子氧.理论计算结果表明,低配位的金,金和载体之间的电荷转移,以及金所表现出的强相对论效应对于纳米金的活性影响很大.需要特别指出的是,金的强相对论效应有助于理解金表面的 CO吸附与金配位的关系、金表面原子氧的吸附特性、金氧化物薄膜的结构和分子氧的活化等过程.我们认为,金的强相对论作用导致了体相金的化学惰性以及纳米金的活性,因此相对论效应的深入研究将有助于理解金催化 CO氧化反应机理,从而有助于深层次理解纳米金催化活性来源.     

Structure and chemical activity of transition metal and metal oxide catalysts: An insight from theoretical DFT studies

The present theoretical DFT study discusses the structure and chemical activity of transition metal and metal oxide catalysts within the well-known cluster approach. Selective oxidation of carbon monoxide on gold supported on titania (Au/TiO₂ (110)) as well as some key points in understanding the effect of non-metal doping on TiO2 with the aim to increase its photocatalytic functionality have been briefly discussed. It was shown that Au (with formal oxidation state equal to plus one) stabilized on water-assisted and vacancy containing TiO₂ (110) can explain selective oxidation of CO. Here binding of O₂ with the vacancy site is energetically preferable than its adsorption on an Au site. Conversely, CO adsorbs on an Au center of Au/TiO₂ (110) which is energetically much more profitable than its interaction with the oxygen vacancy site. Also, carbon and nitrogen doping on TiO₂ (110) leads to two different structures. Energetically most profitable is that carbon occupies an interstitial position in deep bulk while nitrogen replaces the protruded oxygen atom and forms a surface N-H group.     

Unravelling the origin of the high-catalytic activity of supported Au: a density-functional theory-based interpretation

Using first principles DF calculations we have studied the structural and catalytic properties of Au supported on TiOx-Mo(112) films. Our theoretical models are consistent with an initial (8 x 2) Mo(112)-Ti2O3 pattern which after Au deposition gives rise to ordered Au films that completely wet the surface. The oxidation of CO on model surfaces at coverage 1, 4/3, and 5/2 ML has been analyzed. The oxidation proceeds through a peroxo-like complex in which molecular oxygen is simultaneously bound to the CO and the surface. The energy barrier computed for a Au coverage of 4/3 ML is found significantly lower in agreement with the unusual high activity observed for this catalyst. The detailed analysis of the geometry and electronic structure provides a fundamental understanding of the reaction.     

The nature of the oxidation states of gold on ZnO

The interaction between gold in the 0, i, ii and iii oxidation states and the zinc-terminated ZnO(0001) surface is studied via the QM/MM electronic embedding method using density functional theory. The surface sites considered are the vacant zinc interstitial surface site (VZISS) and the bulk-terminated island site (BTIS). We find that on the VZISS, only Au(0) and Au(i) are stable oxidation states. However, all clusters of i to iii oxidation states are stable as substitutionals for Zn2+ in the bulk terminated island site. Au(OH)(x) complexes (x= 1-3) can adsorb exothermically onto the VZISS, indicating that higher oxidation states of gold can be stabilised at this site in the presence of hydroxyl groups. CO is used as a probe molecule to study the reactivity of Au in different oxidation states in VZISS and BTIS. In all cases, we find that the strongest binding of CO is to surface Au(i). Furthermore, CO binding onto Au(0) is stronger when the gold atom is adsorbed onto the VZISS compared to CO binding onto a gas phase neutral gold atom. These results indicate that the nature of the oxidation states of Au on ZnO(0001) will depend on the type of adsorption site. The role of ZnO in Au/ZnO catalysts is not, therefore, merely to disperse gold atoms/particles, but to also modify their electronic properties.