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Opportunities and challenges in the development of advanced materials for emission control catalysts

Nature Materials volume 20, pages 1049–1059 (2021)Cite this article

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Abstract

Advances in engine technologies are placing additional demands on emission control catalysts, which must now perform at lower temperatures, but at the same time be robust enough to survive harsh conditions encountered in engine exhaust. In this Review, we explore some of the materials concepts that could revolutionize the technology of emission control systems. These include single-atom catalysts, two-dimensional materials, three-dimensional architectures, core@shell nanoparticles derived via atomic layer deposition and via colloidal synthesis methods, and microporous oxides. While these materials provide enhanced performance, they will need to overcome many challenges before they can be deployed for treating exhaust from cars and trucks. We assess the state of the art for catalysing reactions related to emission control and also consider radical breakthroughs that could potentially completely transform this field.

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Fig. 1: Typical configurations of a modern gasoline and diesel emission catalysts.
Fig. 2: Encapsulation of the active phase via colloidal synthesis.
Fig. 3: ALD for overcoating and surface modification.
Fig. 4: Composite materials aggregated into a secondary structure.
Fig. 5: 2D and 3D nanostructures for emission control catalysts.
Fig. 6: Deactivation by formation of single atoms and their in situ reactivation.
Fig. 7: Strategies to achieve high reactivity in single-atom catalysts.

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Acknowledgements

The work at the University of New Mexico has been supported by NSF GOALI grant CBET-1707127 (catalyst ageing), the US Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Basic Energy Sciences (SC), Division of Chemical Sciences (grant DE-FG02-05ER15712) (catalyst synthesis) and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (FA9550-18-1-0413) (computational modelling). The work at TU Darmstadt and Umicore has been supported by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi: 19U15014B) through the DEUFRAKO programme. We thank B. Betz for providing Fig. 7a, and we thank the following for helpful discussions: S. Oh, G. Qi and W. Li from GM Global R&D, C. H. Kim from Hyundai, C. Lambert from Ford, A. Yezerets from Cummins, K. Rappé from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, T. Toops from Oak Ridge National Laboratory and N. Semagina from the University of Alberta.

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  1. Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA

    Abhaya K. Datye

  2. Technical University of Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany

    Martin Votsmeier

  3. Umicore AG & Co. KG, Hanau, Germany

    Martin Votsmeier

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Datye, A.K., Votsmeier, M. Opportunities and challenges in the development of advanced materials for emission control catalysts. Nat. Mater. 20, 1049–1059 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-020-00805-3

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