Catalytic oxidation of benzene, toluene and p-xylene over colloidal gold supported on zinc oxide catalyst

Au was loaded (1.5 wt.%) on the supports (ZnO, Al₂O₃ and MgO) by a colloidal deposition method. For a range of low temperatures (50-300 °C), the catalytic activity of Au/ZnO was much greater than that of Au/Al₂O₃ and Au/MgO. In particular, for the Au/ZnO, the benzene conversion exceeded 80% at 150 °C. The results of catalyst characterization suggested that the high catalytic activity of the Au/ZnO might be attributed to the effects of strong metal-oxide interaction which is possibly originated from the small lattice parameter difference between Au {111} and ZnO {101} lattice planes.