Using methanol instead of ethanol leads to larger Au NPs and a less environmentally friendly and more hazardous synthesis. However, it is here established that the ca. 20 nm NPs obtained using methanol are about as active as the ca. 10 nm Au NPs obtained using ethanol. While this result calls for further detailed chemical and structural studies of the Au NPs, this observation shine light on the importance of a full control of NP synthesis to develop optimal NMs.