Recent advances in gold-metal oxide core-shell nanoparticles: Synthesis, characterization, and their application for heterogeneous catalysis

Heterogeneous catalysis with core-shell structures has been a large area of focus for many years. This paper reviews the most recent work and research in coreshell catalysts utilizing noble metals, specifically gold, as the core within a metal oxide shell. The advantage of the core-shell structure lies in its capacity to retain catalytic activity under thermal and mechanical stress, which is a pivotal consideration when synthesizing any catalyst. This framework is particularly useful for gold nanoparticles in protecting them from sintering so that they retain their size, structure, and most importantly their catalytic efficiency. The different methods of synthesizing such a structure have been compiled into three categories: seed-mediated growth, post selective oxidation treatment, and one-pot chemical synthesis. The selective oxidation of carbon monoxide and reduction of nitrogen containing compounds, such as nitrophenol and nitrostyrene, have been studied over the past few years to evaluate the functionality and stability of the core-shell catalysts. Different factors that could influence the catalyst’s performance are the size, structure, choice of metal oxide shell and noble metal core and thereby the interfacial synergy and lattice mismatch between the core and shell. In addition, the morphology of the shell also plays a critical role, including its porosity, density, and thickness. This review covers the synthesis and characterization of gold-metal oxide core-shell structures, as well as how they are utilized as catalysts for carbon monoxide (CO) oxidation and selective reduction of nitrogen-containing compounds.