Exclusive hydrogenation to benzyl alcohol and aniline over supported Au.
TOF increased with decreasing Au size (8- 4 nm); lower TOF over Au <3 nm.
CHO and NO2 repulsion by Auδ+ and strong binding to oxygen vacancies lower TOF.
Auδ− on non-reducible Al2O3 favours selective formation of benzyl alcohol.
Higher temperatures (>413 K) promote hydrogenolysis to toluene and benzene.