Emission control catalysts have gained increasing interest primarily due to the rigorous requirements to reduce emissions of various hazardous pollutants, such as hydrocarbons and CO. Currently, most catalysts use Pt and Pd since these elements are known for their high efficiency in combusting hydrocarbons. However, there still are open questions regarding the catalytic behavior of Pd and Pt since conventional catalysts preparation results in non-uniform metal morphology and site distribution. Thus, understanding how the structure and change of these materials relate with performance is crucial to optimize the use of these expensive metals and improve their performance at lower temperatures as needed by new engine requirements. In this talk, well-defined Pd and Pt nanocrystals prepared by colloidal synthesis are used to shed light on the most active sites for hydrocarbon combustion with insights from theory and synchrotron characterization. Recent work on using uniform Pd nanocrystals to identify active sites for methane combustion and improve Pd activity will be presented. The stability of such catalysts will also be explained in terms of competitive processes of sintering and metal particle decomposition into atomic species. Overall, these detailed structure-property relationship studies allow to obtain materials with maximized rates and efficient use of noble metals for low-temperature hydrocarbon combustion.

Mechanistic insights and structure-property relationship studies in hydrocarbon activation and catalyst stability using colloidal nanocrystal catalysts

ACS Spring 2022

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