Automotive exhaust catalysis

Research in the field of automotive exhaust catalysis has paralleled the broader growth in heterogeneous catalysis research—beginning in the 1960s, progressing through commercialization in the mid-1970s, and continuing today. The general trend has been one of increasingly complex catalyst formulations in response to increasingly stringent emission standards. Nowhere is this more evident than in the various means that have been employed to most effectively utilize the noble metal components. These efforts will continue, but with greater emphasis on optimizing catalyst formulations for lean-burn applications and reducing catalyst cost and complexity without sacrificing performance.