The reduction of NO by propene in the presence of excess oxygen over mechanical mixtures of Au/Al2O3 with a bulk oxide has been investigated. The oxides studied were: Co3O4, Mn2O3, Cr2O3, CuO, Fe2O3, NiO, CeO2, SnO2, ZnO and V2O5. Under lean C3H6-SCR conditions, these oxides (with the exception of SnO2) convert selectively NO to NO2. When mechanically mixed with Au/Al2O3, the Mn2O3 and Co3O4 oxides and, to a much greater extent, CeO2 act synergistically with this catalyst greatly enhancing its SCR performance. It was found that their synergistic action is not straightforwardly related to their activity for NO oxidation to NO2. The exhibited catalytic synergy may be due to the operation of either remote control or a bifunctional mechanism. In the later case, the key intermediate must be a short-lived compound and not the NO2 molecule in gas-phase. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.