http://dx.doi.org/10.1595/205651316X691960 Johnson Matthey Technol. Rev.

, 2016, 60, (3), 196–203

JOHNSON MATTHEY
TECHNOLOGY REVIEW www.technology.matthey.com

Thermally Induced Deactivation and the

Corresponding Strategies for Improving Durability in
Automotive Three-Way Catalysts
A review of latest developments and fundamentals

By Jun-Jun He and Cheng-Xiong Wang reviews thermally induced deactivation mechanisms,

State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technologies which are the major contributor to deactivation, and
for Comprehensive Utilization of Platinum Metals, provides an overview of the common strategies for
Kunming Institute of Precious Metals, Kunming improving durability and preventing deactivation. It
650106, China highlights the interaction of metals with supports and
the diffusion inhibition of atoms and crystallites in both
Ting-Ting Zheng washcoats and metal nanoparticles and concludes with
State-Local Joint Engineering Laboratory of Precious some recommendations for future research directions
Metal Catalytic Technology and Application, Kunming towards ever more challenging catalyst manufacture to
Sino-platinum Metals Catalysts Co Ltd, Kunming meet increasing durability requirements both now and
650106, China in the future.

Yun-Kun Zhao* 1. Introduction

State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technologies
for Comprehensive Utilization of Platinum Metals, Concerns about the environment mean that new,
Kunming Institute of Precious Metals, Kunming increasingly demanding emissions standards have
650106, China; and State-Local Joint Engineering been gradually introduced around the world to improve
Laboratory of Precious Metal Catalytic Technology and urban air quality. California has the most demanding
Application, Kunming Sino-platinum Metals Catalysts emissions legislation in the world. Its super ultra
Co Ltd, Kunming 650106, China low emission vehicle (SULEV2) standard mandates
durability over 120,000 miles and the zero emission
*Email: yk.zhao@spmcatalyst.com vehicle (ZEV2) limits require up to 150,000 miles
durability (1, 2). The typical exhaust gas temperatures of
gasoline engines (≤800–850C) are higher than those of
Increasingly demanding exhaust emissions regulations diesel engines, but with very low start-up temperatures
require that automotive three-way catalysts (TWC) must (≤250C) that severely hinder hydrocarbon emissions
exhibit excellent catalytic activity and durability. Thus, control (3). In stoichiometric engines, close-coupled
developing TWC based on an accurate understanding catalysts are exposed to bed-temperatures reaching
of deactivation mechanisms is critical. This work briefly 1050C, resulting in difficulties in terms of the durability.

196 © 2016 Johnson Matthey

http://dx.doi.org/10.1595/205651316X691960 Johnson Matthey Technol. Rev., 2016, 60, (3)

Therefore, both the catalytic activity and stability of

the TWC must be carefully designed to meet both the (a) Coalescence and growth of particles
stringent emissions norms and durability requirements.
There are many factors, for instance phase changes,
poison adsorption, coking, mechanical and thermal
lash, that can seriously affect the catalyst’s structural
and textural properties, metal dispersion, oxygen
storage capacity (OSC) and redox activity (4, 5). The
(b) Collapse and elimination of pores
key deactivation mechanisms of catalysts are basically
three-fold: chemical, mechanical and thermal. Thermal
deactivation remains a fundamental problem to be
resolved in TWC deactivation (6).
Compared with the base metals, precious metals
are more commonly employed in automotive catalysts
because of their intrinsic reactivity, preferable poisoning Fig. 1. Thermally induced changes take place in washcoat
resistance and higher thermal stability that are required materials

for automotive applications (7). However, precious

metals also have intrinsic defects, for example particle
growth and coalescence will occur under the complex porous -Al2O3 starts to turn gradually to δ-Al2O3 at an
reaction environment, resulting in rapid reduction of approximate temperature of 900C, which successively
catalytic activity. This review is especially focused on changes to θ-Al2O3 at approximately 1000C and
providing an overview of the deactivation mechanisms finally to non-porous -Al2O3 (only ~5 m2 g–1 surface
in rare earth-based TWC and the corresponding area) above 1200C (7, 11), which results from the
strategies for improving durability. coalescence of particles and the elimination of pore
structures.
2. Oxide Washcoat Materials Compared to other washcoat materials for TWC, Al2O3
has a higher specific surface area and better thermal
Alumina is employed as the most common washcoat and chemical stability that is particularly significant for
material in TWC owing to its excellent chemical and metal dispersion. Hence, improving skeleton stability
thermal stability. Ceria-based additives play a critical and suppressing phase transformation of -Al2O3 are
role in providing oxygen mobility and oxygen storage necessary. These can be achieved through skeletal
in TWC due to their recognised ability to undergo rapid doping with specific dopants (i.e. lanthanum oxide
reduction/oxidation cycles, according to Equation (i) (8): (La2O3), zirconia (ZrO2) and yttrium(III) oxide (Y2O3)).
Inserting metal ions (especially La3+ with a large
4CeO2 ⇌ 2Ce2O3 + O2 (i)
ionic radius) into the skeleton of transitional Al2O3 to
However, Al2O3 and CeO2-based materials, as the prevent the diffusion of O2− and Al3+ ions should be the
main components of washcoats, are subjected to most effective strategy for improving thermal stability.
significant sintering as presented in Figure 1. Sintering However, atomic scale insertion is still a technical
is seen as one of the major deactivation mechanisms challenge and remains an interesting research field.
(4, 9). Washcoat sintering typically occurs at very high CeO2 readily crystallises and sinters with growth of
temperatures with coalescence and growth of particles particles and loss of surface area, leading to rapid
as well as collapse and elimination of pores leading to a reduction of the oxygen storage and release properties
decrease of the specific surface area and encapsulation that are the most critical feature of TWC. Similarly,
of active metal nanoparticles by washcoat, as well as a the formation of CeO2-ZrO2 solid solution achieved
sharp loss of active surface area. through introduction of Zr4+ ions into the CeO2 skeleton
In the case of Al2O3, sintering is accompanied by not only stabilises the host lattice of crystalline CeO2
thermally induced phase transformation. According at high temperatures, but also enhances the catalytic
to Arai and coworkers, -Al2O3 (100–200 m2 g–1 activities of water-gas shift reactions and hydrocarbon
surface area) undergoes consecutive and irreversible steam-reforming reactions in catalytic converters
phase transformation at high temperatures (10). The (12, 13).

197 © 2016 Johnson Matthey

http://dx.doi.org/10.1595/205651316X691960 Johnson Matthey Technol. Rev., 2016, 60, (3)

CeO2-ZrO2 mixed oxides have a surface area below Another strategy for improving the stability of
2 m2 g–1 and the particles undergo significant CeO2-ZrO2 materials is the use of Al2O3 particles as
coalescence and growth. One study found a crystallite diffusion barriers, introduced to form Al2O3-CeO2-ZrO2
size of 19.6 nm after thermal treatment at 1000C for hybrid oxides as shown in Figure 2. Compared to
5 hours under static air (14). Although total oxygen CeO2-ZrO2 mixed oxides, the Al2O3-CeO2-ZrO2 hybrid
storage capacity (OSC-cI) and the amount of O2 oxides still have a high surface area and OSC after
adsorption/desorption per mol of CeO2 (OSC-cII) durability ageing under the same conditions (14).
showed no obvious changes, the oxygen release rate There is however difficulty in controlling the metal-
(OSC-r) suffered a sharp decrease as shown in Table I. support interfaces which may have a negative effect on
For the further improvement of stability of the particular reactions occurring in the catalytic converter
CeO2-ZrO2 composite, ternary CeO2-based composite (17). The most negative influence for automotive
materials were introduced. As Lee’s group reported, exhaust catalysts is the formation of rhodium aluminate
La3+ and Sm3+ can effectively stabilise the cubic compounds at the Rh-Al2O3 interface (18).
Ce0.40Zr0.60O2 phase that plays a critical role in oxygen As mentioned above, strategies that simultaneously
mobility and OSC, while other rare earth elements have take into account catalyst stability and control of the
the opposite effect (15). The ternary component content metal-support interface should be developed, to
also affects the OSC stability according to Chen et al. ensure high activity and sufficient durability, which
(16): a high neodymium content will gradually convert are then able to meet upcoming emission standards.
the CeO2-ZrO2 cubic phase into a Nd0.50Zr0.50O1.75 This is a promising research field but with some great
cubic phase which leads to a decline in the OSC. technological challenges.

Table I Properties of CeO2-ZrO2 Mixed Oxides 3. Active Precious Metals

Properties Fresh sample Aged sample
Besides a sufficient washcoat surface area, two other
OSC-cI,
317 225 key contributors to high catalytic activity are the surface
μmol gcat–1
area and dispersion of the precious metal nanoparticles.
OSC-cII, mol Over time in operation, the active precious metal
0.102 0.073
mol–1 CeO2
nanoparticles will be subjected to crystallite growth due
OSC-r, to sintering, resulting in reduced activity, even to the
13.1 0.3
μmol gcat–1 s
point of total deactivation.
Crystallite Atomic and crystallite migration are two hypotheses
8.4 19.6
size, nm
for sintering of supported catalysts (19) as shown

Diffusion barriers

High temperature

Ceria-zirconia Nano composites

Alumina
mixed oxides materials

High temperature

Mechanical mixtures
Fig. 2. Schematic illustration of Al2O3 particles as diffusion barriers in CeO2-ZrO2 mixed oxides to improve washcoat
thermal stability

198 © 2016 Johnson Matthey

http://dx.doi.org/10.1595/205651316X691960 Johnson Matthey Technol. Rev., 2016, 60, (3)

in Figure 3. In these cases, particle migration and

Table II T0, TTamman and THüttig Values of Pt, Pd,
coalescence (PMC) and Ostwald ripening (OR) are the
Rh and their Compounds
two main sintering mechanisms according to Bowker
(20). Both PMC and OR are dynamic processes Metals T0, K TTamman, K THüttig, K
which involve atomic exchange. The PMC sintering Pt 2028 1014 608
mechanism occurs when two or more particles touch
or collide and then merge to form a larger particle. In PtO 823 412 247

contrast, the OR sintering mechanism occurs when PtO2 723 362 217
material evaporates from the surface of a smaller
PtCl2 854 427 256
particle with higher surface energy, and transfers onto
the surface of a larger particle. PtCl4 643 322 193
Sintering of active precious metal nanoparticles is
Pd 1828 914 548
closely related to reaction temperature and the size
and composition of the nanoparticles (17). When PdO 1023 512 307
quasi-liquid layers form on the crystal surface, migration Rh 2258 1129 677
of surface atoms and crystallites will occur at the Hüttig
Rh2O3 1373 687 412
or Tamman temperatures of the bulk phase that are often
used to semi-empirically describe the temperatures at
which atomic migration and crystallite migration can atmosphere (23), shape and composition of metal
occur. The ratio of the melting point (Tmelting) of unique nanoparticles (24), metal dispersion (25), the loading
particles with radius, r, and heat of fusion, L, to that of of the metal on supports (26) and the interactions
the bulk phase (T0) can be given by Equation (ii) (21): between the supports and metals (27).

   
Higher durability requires a lower sintering rate to
2/3
Tmelting 2 s maintain enough metal surface for long-term use and
=1– s – l (ii)
T0 sLr l this is often accomplished through stabilising the active
metal nanoparticles. Figure 4 shows the three typical
where  and  represent the surface free energy and strategies for precious metal sintering suppression
density of the solid and liquid, respectively. Table II (28–30): (a) support anchoring for metal nanoparticles,
exhibits T0, TTamman and THüttig of platinum, palladium, (b) alloying of active metals and (c) inhibition of atomic
Rh and their compounds. Metallic Pt, Pd and Rh have and crystallite migration via support encapsulation
higher Hüttig and Tamman temperatures than the technology, for instance the construction of core-shell
corresponding compounds, demonstrating that higher nanostructures and atomic layer deposition. In TWC,
valency metals may have poorer thermal stability.
Equation (ii) highlights that the melting point of unique Strategy 1: Anchoring effect
particles depends on their composition, size and also
surface free energy.
Oxidising
The experimental observations show that temperature
Supports Supports
is a dominant factor for sintering (22). The sintering
behaviours of active precious metals can also be Strategy 2: Alloying effect
affected by any other conditions that lead to changes
in the surface energy of the particles, such as reaction Alloying

PM1 PM2

Strategy 3: Encapsulation of PM particles

Atomic migratio Blocking

igration n
Crystallite m
Supports

Fig. 3. Two conceptual models for sintering of active Fig. 4. Three typical strategies for precious metal sintering
precious metal particles suppression in TWC

199 © 2016 Johnson Matthey

http://dx.doi.org/10.1595/205651316X691960 Johnson Matthey Technol. Rev., 2016, 60, (3)

precious metal sintering is difficult to suppress by

Table III Effect of Ageing Atmosphere on
support anchoring due to the fluctuations of exhaust
the Metal Dispersion and Sintering
gas compositions and temperatures under operating
Behaviour
conditions. In addition, support anchoring effects only
occur at given temperature windows (31). Alloying by Ageing atmosphere Pt Pd Rh

the introduction of a second metal with a higher melting N2, 1100C 21 nm 97 nm 14 nm

point is a simpler and more controllable way to control
Simulated exhaust
metal sintering and improve thermal durability. Hence, 78 nm 68 nm 88 nm
gas, 1100C
additional composition and content optimisation of not not
Air, 1100C 97 nm
bimetallic catalysts for better self-stabilisation effect determined determined
may be of great importance. However, according to our
years of experience, alloying is both difficult to control et al. found that Pd nanoparticle redispersion occurs
and to avoid the negative metal-support interactions for during CO/NO cycling, which points to the formation of
industrial applications remains a challenge. Pd(CO)x and Pd(NO)x adatom complexes (34).
For the third strategy, support encapsulation Sintering and redispersion occur under reducing
technology can form additional metal-support and oxidising atmospheres, respectively (35). Similar
interfaces, but both the stability of shells in core-shell phenomena can be observed in Rh-based catalysts as
nanostructure catalysts and the cost of atomic layer well as Pt-based catalysts (36, 37). Thus, redispersion of
deposition technology still require further technical the active phase in TWC might be interpreted as shown
breakthroughs. in Figure 5. The redispersion of precious metal particles
in TWC can be achieved in two ways: disintegration or
4. Redispersion and Regeneration oxidation. The changes of chemical states that affect
oxidation reactions largely depend on air-to-fuel ratio
The metal dispersion and sintering rates of supported fluctuations and operating temperatures (38).
metal catalysts strongly depend on ageing atmosphere, Grunwaldt’s group found that regeneration of
as shown in Table III (32), indicating that the atmosphere deactivated bimetallic catalysts could be achieved by
found in exhaust gases can accelerate the deactivation hydrogen reduction due to the formation of alloyed
rate over that seen in inert atmosphere. It is noted that particles leading to enhanced oxidation activity under
redispersion is the opposite process to sintering. The lean combustion conditions (39). This regeneration
reactant-induced disintegration of the active phase is mechanism entirely differs from reduction-induced
of great importance in redispersion of active precious sintering because oxidation improves the precious
metals for long-term use. The disintegration strongly metal dispersion for monometallic catalysts while the
depends on the formation rate of adatom complexes opposite is seen during the reduction process.
such as PtOx, Pd(CO)x and Rh(NO)x. These adatoms As reported by Birgersson’s group, regeneration
will form when metal-metal or metal-support interactions of TWC can also be achieved through a thermal
are replaced by metal-reactant bonds (33). Newton treatment under an atmosphere containing chlorine

Oxidation
Supports Supports
Reduced precious metal Oxidised precious metal
supported catalyst supported catalyst
O
O

1/2N2 + CO2
NC

O
C

NCO

N Disintegration
Supports Supports
Formation of adatom Non-oxidative redispersion
complexes
Fig. 5. A schematic representation of redispersion for active precious metals

200 © 2016 Johnson Matthey

http://dx.doi.org/10.1595/205651316X691960 Johnson Matthey Technol. Rev., 2016, 60, (3)

(40). However, it should be noted that oxy-chlorination ions into the skeleton of Al2O3 and CeO2-ZrO2 mixed
may cause a narrow temperature window for oxidation oxides is an effective method for improving structure
of metallic species and the loss of precious metals due stability, but atomic scale insertion still presents a
to the formation of volatile MOxCly compounds. In the challenge in manufacture. In our opinion, the use of
case of Pt, Pt(OH)xCly and α-PtO2 will transform into alloying effects to stabilise precious metal nanoparticles
PtOxCly above 500C, resulting in Pt loss, as reported is very helpful for the improvement of thermal durability.
by Lieske et al. (41). Christou and coworkers reported Nevertheless, further optimising the composition and
a new ‘oxalic acid’ regeneration methodology for aged content of the alloys and reducing undesirable metal-
commercial TWC without any negative effects, which support interactions still pose great challenges in TWC
may be a promising method for further investigation application and manufacture.
to improve durability (42). In our experience, however,
artificial regeneration of TWC is difficult to achieve Acknowledgements
for industrial applications. Thus, these regeneration
methods are considered undesirable for improvement The authors are grateful for support by the National
of durability of TWC and more attention should be given Natural Science Foundation of China (21463015) and
to other strategies. the Provincial Natural Science Foundation of Yunnan,
The composition of gasoline engine tail-pipe China (2014FA045).
emissions fluctuates quickly and dramatically between
oxidation and reduction environments during operation. References
This makes ‘on-board’ redispersion and regeneration
1. M. V. Twigg, Catal. Today, 2011, 163, (1), 33
of TWC highly unsuitable and hardly controllable.
CeO2, used as the most common additive in TWC, 2. M. V. Twigg, Platinum Metals Rev., 2011, 55, (1), 43
provides oxygen mobility capability from the surface 3. J. Kašpar, P. Fornasiero and N. Hickey, Catal. Today,
of CeO2 to precious metal particles and promotes the 2003, 77, (4), 419
dispersion of active metals (43). Nagai et al. reported 4. A. Fathali, L. Olsson, F. Ekström, M. Laurell and B.
that the stability of oxidation states depends on the Andersson, Top. Catal., 2013, 56, (1), 323
precious metal oxide-support interaction (44). In our 5. D. M. Fernandes, C. F. Scofield, A. A. Neto, M. J. B.
opinion, improving the oxygen activation properties of Cardoso and F. M. Z. Zotin, Chem. Eng. J., 2010, 160,
CeO2 and optimising the interaction between precious (1), 85
metals and CeO2 should be investigated to enhance 6. S. Matsumoto, Catal Today, 2004, 90, (3–4), 183
the redispersion and regeneration capability of the 7. U. Lassi, ‘Deactivation Correlations of Pd/Rh Three-
active phase. way Catalysts Designed for Euro IV Emission Limits:
Effect of Ageing Atmosphere, Temperature and Time’,
PhD Thesis, Department of Process and Environmental
5. Conclusions
Engineering, University of Oulu, Finland, 2003
Thermally induced deactivation mechanisms are 8. G. Balducci, P. Fornasiero, R. D. Monte, J. Kaspar, S.
attributed to metal surface loss and the sharp decline of Meriani and M. Graziani, Catal. Lett., 1995, 33, (1), 193
washcoat specific surface area as well as the collapse 9. D. M. Fernandes, C. F. Scofield, A. A. Neto, M. J. B.
of pore structures caused by sintering. Redispersion Cardoso and F. M. Z. Zotin, Process Saf. Environ.,
and regeneration phenomena of TWC are only 2009, 87, (5), 315
experimental observations and there is still a long 10. F. M. Z. Zotin, O. da Fonseca Martins Gomes, C. H. de
development path towards industrial application due Oliveira, A. A. Neto and M. J. B. Cardoso, Catal Today,
to real-world challenges and exhaust gas composition 2005, 107–108, 157
that can actually accelerate deactivation. To improve 11. P. A. Badkar and J. E. Bailey, J. Mater. Sci., 1976, 11,
the durability of TWC, further attention should be given (10), 1794
to understanding the metal-support interactions and 12. T. Kolli, K. Rahkamaa-Tolonen, U. Lassi, A. Savimäki
the diffusion inhibition of atoms and crystallites in order and R. L. Keiski, Catal Today, 2005, 100, (3–4), 297
to reduce the sintering rate of the precious metal and 13. L. Jia, M. Shen and J. Wang, Surf. Coat. Tech., 2007,
stabilise the structure of washcoats. Inserting specific 201, (16–17), 7159

201 © 2016 Johnson Matthey

http://dx.doi.org/10.1595/205651316X691960 Johnson Matthey Technol. Rev., 2016, 60, (3)

14. A. Morikawa, T. Suzuki, T. Kanazawa, K. Kikuta, A. 30. J. Lu, B. Fu, M. C. Kung, G. Xiao, J. W. Elam, H. H.
Suda and H. Shinjo, Appl. Catal. B: Eviron., 2008, 78, Kung and P. C. Stair, Science, 2012, 335, (6073), 1205
(3–4), 210 31. S. Hinokuma, H. Fujii, Y. Katsuhara, K. Ikeue and M.
15. D. H. Prasad, S. Y. Park, H.-I. Ji, H.-R. Kim, J.-W. Son, Machida, Catal. Sci. Technol., 2014, 4, (9), 2990
B.-K. Kim, H.-W. Lee and J.-H. Lee, J. Phys. Chem. C, 32. H. Shinjoh, H. Muraki and Y. Fujitani, Stud. Surf. Sci.
2012, 116, (5), 3467 Catal., 1991, 71, 617
16. J. Guo, Z. Shi, D. Wu, H. Yin, M. Gong and Y. Chen, J. 33. B. R. Goldsmith, E. D. Sanderson, R. Ouyang and W.-
Alloy Compd., 2015, 621, 104 X. Li, J. Phys. Chem. C, 2014, 118, (18), 9588
17. M. Shen, M. Yang, J. Wang, J. Wen, M. Zhao and W. 34. M. A. Newton, C. Belver-Coldeira, A. Martínez-Arias
Wang, J. Phys. Chem. C, 2009, 113, (8), 3212 and M. Fernández-García, Nature Mater., 2007, 6,
18. V. Marchionni, M. A. Newton, A. Kambolis, S. K. (7), 528
Matam, A. Weidenkaff and D. Ferri, Catal. Today, 35. R. J. Farrauto, M. C. Hobson, T. Kennelly and E. M.
2014, 229, 80 Waterman, Appl. Catal. A: Gen., 1992, 81, (2), 227
19. C. H. Bartholomew, Appl. Catal. A: Gen., 2001, 212, 36. A. J. Dent, J. Evans, S. G. Fiddy, B. Jyoti, M. A. Newton
(1–2), 17 and M. Tromp, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2007, 46, (28),
20. M. Bowker, Nature Mater., 2002, 1, (4), 205 5356
21. Ph. Buffat and J.-P. Borel, Phys. Rev. A, 1976, 13, (6), 37. S. Bernal, G. Blanco, J. J. Calvino, J. M. Gatica, J. A.
2287 Pérez Omil and J. M. Pintado, Top. Catal., 2004, 28,
22. P. Forzatti and L. Lietti, Catal Today, 1999, 52, (2–3), (1), 31
165 38. J. Kašpar, P. Fornasiero and N. Hickey, Catal. Today,
23. J. A. Moulijn, A. E. van Diepen and F. Kapteijn, Appl. 2003, 77, (4), 419
Catal. A: Gen., 2001, 212, (1–2), 3 39. A. T. Gremminger, H. W. P. de Carvalho, R. Popescu,
24. A. Cao and G. Veser, Nature Mater., 2010, 9, (1), 75 J.-D. Grunwaldt and O. Deutschmann, Catal. Today,
25. X. Yan, X. Wang, Y. Tang, G. Ma, S. Zou, R. Li, X. 2015, 258, (2), 470
Peng, S. Dai and J. Fan, Chem. Mater., 2013, 25, (9), 40. H. Birgersson, M. Boutonnet, S. Järås and L. Eriksson,
1556 Top. Catal., 2004, 30, (1), 433
26. W. Zou and R. D. Gonzalez, Appl. Catal. A: Gen., 41. H. Lieske, G. Lietz, H. Spindler and J. Völter, J. Catal.,
1993, 102, (2), 181 1983, 81, (1), 8
27. H. Shinjoh, M. Hatanaka, Y. Nagai, T. Tanabe, N. 42. S. Y. Christou, J. Gåsste, H. L. Karlsson, J. L. G. Fierro
Takahashi, T. Yoshida and Y. Miyake, Top. Catal., and A. M. Efstathiou, Top. Catal., 2009, 52, (13–20),
2009, 52, (13–20), 1967 2029
28. M. Cargnello, J. J. D. Jaén, J. C. Hernández Garrido, 43. M. Hatanaka, N. Takahashi, N. Takahashi, T. Tanabe,
K. Bakhmutsky, T. Montini, J. J. Calvino Gámez, R. J. Y. Nagai, A. Suda and H. Shinjoh, J. Catal., 2009, 266,
Gorte and P. Fornasiero, Science, 2012, 337, (6095), (2), 182
713 44. Y. Nagai, K. Dohmae, Y. Ikeda, N. Takagi, T. Tanabe,
29. A. A. Vedyagin, M. S. Gavrilov, A. M. Volodin, V. O. N. Hara, G. Guilera, S. Pascarelli, M. A. Newton, O.
Stoyanovskii, E. M. Slavinskaya, I. V. Mishakov and Y. Kuno, H. Jiang, H. Shinjoh and S. Matsumoto, Angew.
V. Shubin, Top. Catal., 2013, 56, (11), 1008 Chem. Int. Ed., 2008, 47, (48), 9303

The Authors
Jun-Jun He graduated from Tianjin University, China, in 2011, with a PhD in Chemical Engineering
and Technology and subsequently worked as a Research and Design Engineer at Kunming
Institute of Precious Metals (IPM), China. His main research field is new washcoat recipe design
and applications. He is also Head of the gasoline aftertreatment team at IPM.

202 © 2016 Johnson Matthey

http://dx.doi.org/10.1595/205651316X691960 Johnson Matthey Technol. Rev., 2016, 60, (3)

Cheng-Xiong Wang obtained a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Chemical Engineering from

Taiyuan University of Technology, China, in 2013. He is currently pursuing his Master’s degree in
Catalysis Science at IPM.

Ting-Ting Zheng has a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Northwestern University,
China, and a Master’s degree in Catalysis Science from IPM. She works at State-Local Joint
Engineering Laboratory of Precious Metal Catalytic Technology and Application and is devoted to
the research and development of TWC in emissions control.

Dr Yun-Kun Zhao received his PhD from Lanzhou University, China, and had a postdoctoral
career at Peking University, China. As a Senior Professor at IPM, he has specialised in platinum
group metals assaying methods and catalytic materials development. Since 2002, he is Technical
Director at Kunming Sino-Platinum Metals Catalysts Co Ltd. His main responsibility is to develop
catalysts for exhaust emissions control.

203 © 2016 Johnson Matthey