Mazda Motor Corporation has developed the world's first catalyst material that relies on single-nanotechnology to reduce the amount of platinum and palladium used in automotive catalysts by 70 to 90 percent. This new material does not result in any changes in the performance of emission control systems.
In automotive catalysts, precious metals promote chemical reactions that purify exhaust gases on their surfaces. Exposure to exhaust gas heat causes the precious metal to agglomerate into larger particles. This reduces the catalyst's effective surface area and catalytic activity, which requires the use of a significant amount of precious metals to counter and maintain an efficient purification performance.
In order to increase the precious metal surface area, Mazda developed a new catalyst material structure with precious metal particles that are less than 5 nanometers (nm) in diameter. As a result, there is no agglomeration of the precious metal particles, hence the 70-90 percent reduction. Moreover, the new catalyst material will maintain the same level of purifying efficiency, with minimal deterioration over time even under the harshest operating conditions.
photo:Mazda
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In automotive catalysts, precious metals promote chemical reactions that purify exhaust gases on their surfaces. Exposure to exhaust gas heat causes the precious metal to agglomerate into larger particles. This reduces the catalyst's effective surface area and catalytic activity, which requires the use of a significant amount of precious metals to counter and maintain an efficient purification performance.
In order to increase the precious metal surface area, Mazda developed a new catalyst material structure with precious metal particles that are less than 5 nanometers (nm) in diameter. As a result, there is no agglomeration of the precious metal particles, hence the 70-90 percent reduction. Moreover, the new catalyst material will maintain the same level of purifying efficiency, with minimal deterioration over time even under the harshest operating conditions.
photo:Mazda