Recent Advances in the Gold-Catalysed Low-Temperature Water-Gas Shift Reaction

The low-temperature water gas shift reaction (LTS: CO + H2O.=s CO2 + H-2) is a key step in the purification of H-2 reformate streams that feed H-2 fuel cells. Supported gold catalysts were originally identified as being active for this reaction twenty years ago, and since then, considerable advances have been made in the synthesis and characterisation of these catalysts. In this review, we identify and evaluate the progress towards solving the most important challenge in this research area: the development of robust, highly active catalysts that do not deactivate on-stream under realistic reaction conditions.