catalysts Review Au/CeO2 Catalysts: Structure and CO Oxidation Activity Miguel Angel Centeno 1,*, Tomás Ramírez Reina 2, Svetlana Ivanova 1, Oscar Hernando Laguna 1 and José Antonio Odriozola 1 1 Departamento de Química Inorgánica, Universidad de Sevilla e Instituto de Ciencias de Materiales de Sevilla Centro mixto US-CSIC Avda. Américo Vespucio 49, Seville 41092, Spain;
[email protected] (S.I.);
[email protected] (O.H.L.);
[email protected] (J.A.O.) 2 Department of Chemical and Process Engineering, University of Surrey Guildford, Guildford GU2 7XH, UK;
[email protected] * Correspondence:
[email protected]; Tel.: +34-95-4489543 Academic Editors: Leonarda F. Liotta and Salvatore Scirè Received: 6 September 2016; Accepted: 11 October 2016; Published: 18 October 2016 Abstract: In this comprehensive review, the main aspects of using Au/CeO2 catalysts in oxidation reactions are considered. The influence of the preparation methods and synthetic parameters, as well as the characteristics of the ceria support (presence of doping cations, oxygen vacancies concentration, surface area, redox properties, etc.) in the dispersion and chemical state of gold are revised. The proposed review provides a detailed analysis of the literature data concerning the state of the art and the applications of gold–ceria systems in oxidation reactions. Keywords: gold–ceria catalysts; oxidation reactions; preferential oxidation reactions (PROX); water gas shift (WGS) 1. Introduction Carbon monoxide (CO) is one of the extended pollutants of our environment, thus requiring prevention and control to insure the adequate protection of public health [1]. Carbon monoxide is hardly detectable, colorless, tasteless, odorless, non-irritating very toxic gas for humans and animals because of its high affinity to hemoglobin and the cell’s oxygen transport blocking.