Predicted Oxidation of CO Catalyzed by Au Nanoclusters on a Thin   Defect-Free MgO Film Supported on a Mo(100) Surface
  Here we show results of first-principles investigations aiming at tuning and controlling the catalytic activity of gold nanoclusters through the design of the underlying support. We show that gold clusters adsorbed on a very thin (2 layers) defect-free MgO film which is itself supported on Mo(100), may serve as model catalysts for the low-barrier oxidation of CO. The origin of the emergent activity of the nanoclusters is a dimensionality crossover of the adsorbed gold clusters, from inactive three-dimensional (3D) optimal structures on thick MgO films, to catalytically active 2D ones for sufficiently thin MgO films (less then 1nm in thickness) supported on Mo(100). 
Chun Zhang, Bokwon Yoon, and Uzi Landman
cond-mat.mtrl-sci