Recent Advances in the Development of Automotive Catalytic Converters: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Despite the current boost in the use of electric vehicles to reduce the automotive sector’s footprint, combustion vehicles are and will be present in our cities in both the immediate and long term. In this sense, catalytic converters, which are exhaust gas post-treatment systems for vehicle emission control, are critical for complying with increasingly stringent environmental regulations. This work proposes a systematic review to identify the most relevant knowledge regarding the parameters (materials, geometries, and engine conditions), conditions (cold start, oxygen storage, and deactivation), and mathematical models to consider in the design of catalytic converters. The Scopus database contains 283 records related to this review’s objective. After applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 65 reports were retrieved for evaluation. A table was created to present the results and prepare this manuscript. The evaluation revealed that the following topics were active: the study of non-noble catalyst materials, as well as new substrate materials and geometries, for designing more compact and cost-effective catalytic converters; the development of strategies to improve conversion during cold starts; and the development of accurate and fast estimation models.

Insights into the Reactivation Process of Thermal Aged Bimetallic Pt-Pd/CeO2-ZrO2-La2O3 Catalysts at Different Treating Temperatures and Their Structure–Activity Evolutions for Three-Way Catalytic Performance

“…The fast-developing modern car industry has brought great convenience to people's daily lives but the air pollution caused by automobile exhaust has posed a great threat to both human health and environmental sustainability [1,2]. Three-way catalysts can simultaneously eliminate three major pollutants from automobile exhaust including carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbons (HCs), and nitrogen oxides (NO x ) and have been widely employed as the most effective after-treatment technique for automobile pollution control [3,4]. Typical TWC catalysts generally consist of precious metals (PM, such as Pt, Pd, and Rh), γ-Al 2 O 3 , and CeO 2 -ZrO 2 supporting materials [5], among which Pt and Pd are the most essential active components.…”