Effect of the composition of the reaction atmosphere on the thermal stability of highly dispersed gold particles on an oxide support (Au/Al2O3 system)

Abstract

Metal gold particles were supported onto the surface of aluminum oxide by physical vapor deposition. The effects of thermal treatments at 30−800°C both in a vacuum and in an atmosphere of O₂ (5 mbar), CO (5 mbar), or a mixture of CO + O₂ (5 mbar of each) on the samples of Au/Al₂O₃ were studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. An increase in the Au4f line intensity in the course of gold deposition was accompanied by a shift of this line toward smaller binding energy. Upon the supporting of a maximum quantity of gold, the binding energy E_b(Au4f_7/2) became smaller than the value characteristic of the bulk metal. It was hypothesized that this can be explained by the formation of negatively charged Au^δ− particles due to electron density transfer from the support to the particles of gold. In the course of the heating of Au/Al₂O₃ in a vacuum or in a reaction atmosphere, the agglomeration of small gold particles occurred; this fact manifested itself in a decrease in the atomic ratio [Au]/[Al]. In all of the atmospheres, the Au particles supported on Al₂O₃ exhibited high thermal stability; considerable changes in the ratio [Au]/[Al] were observed only at temperatures higher than 600°C.