News Chemistry

Building a cheaper catalyst

Less costly than platinum, perovskite may do even better at cleaning diesel exhaust

By Alexandra Witze

- More than 2 years ago

Chemical engineers have found a cheaper and possibly better material than platinum for cleaning up the exhaust streams of diesel vehicles.

IMPROVING ENGINES A perovskite catalyst could work better and more cheaply than traditional catalysts for cleaning exhaust from diesel engines. Wei Li

Many automobiles use platinum-containing catalytic converters to help clean their exhaust streams of various pollutants, notably the nitrogen oxide compounds that can contribute to smog.