1. Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138 (USA), Fax: (+1)?617‐496‐8410 http://www.chem.harvard.edu/groups/friend/index.html;2. School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138 (USA)
Abstract:
Atomic oxygen adsorbed on metallic gold promotes the low‐temperature transformation of methanol to methyl formate, formaldehyde, and formic acid. The reactions occur with oxygen‐containing gold nanoparticles (ca. 2 nm in diameter), which form when Au(111) is oxidized with ozone. The detailed reaction mechanism is discussed by C. M. Friend and co‐workers in the Communication on page 4206 ff.
