An open-circuit study of the reduction of oxygen coverage on Au by aUyl alcohol was made. The experimental results have been interpreted using Christov's scheme (15). The gold oxide coverage appears to be removed via a chemical, an electrochemical, or a mixed mechanism, depending on different potential values which characterize the diverse zones appearing in the E-t curves. Gold oxide reduction seems to take place through two steps in acidic electrolytes and through three in neutral ones. The first step appears to be the reduction of Au20:3 to AutO, the second a reduction of Au20 to Au, while the third has been interpreted as a reduction of an aged form of Au20.