Metallic corner atoms in gold clusters supported on rutile are the dominant active site during water-gas shift catalysis

Au/Ti[O.sub.2] catalysts used in the water-gas shift (WGS) reaction at C, CO, [H.sub.2]O, C[O.sub.2] and [H.sub.2] has rates up to 0.1 moles of CO converted per mole of Au per second. A physical model of Au/Ti[O.sub.2] is used for showing that corner atoms with fewer than seven neighboring gold atoms are the dominant active sites.