Design of Support Effect in the Catalytic Application of Ligand‐Protect Gold Clusters

Comprehensive Summary Ligand‐protected gold (Au n ) clusters sometimes need the removal of organic ligands to expose more active sites and reduce steric hindrance in catalytic reactions, and large amount of organic and inorganic materials usually need to be employed as supports to anchor Au n clusters through different interaction mechanisms. Whereas, less comprehensive summaries have been provided about the crucial contribution of various supports to the catalytic performance of the supported Au n clusters. Herein, this review firstly summarizes synthesis methods ( e.g ., impregnation and encapsulation processes) for the supported Au n cluster catalysts, and then mainly points out specific contributions of support effect in a great diversity of catalytic reactions, as well as deep interaction mechanisms. Besides, opportunities and challenging issues will be stated towards supported Au n clusters, in terms of improving catalytic performance and structural stability of Au n clusters in the demand of catalysis.