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Strict mobile source emission legislation in many countries throughout the world are motivating research and development efforts to bring forth advanced formulations. Steep rises in the price of rhodium during the past couple of years is resulting in intense efforts to control the costs of the new catalyst technologies being developed. This paper examines some catalyst development strategies being explored to accomplish the above objectives.

The first catalytic converters for the control of automotive exhaust emissions were commercialized fifteen years ago in 1974. Since then great progress has been made in improving emissions technology and expanding the options available to the engineer to solve complex emissions problems. This paper traces some of those developments particularly focusing on lower noble metal cost options. Both oxidation and three-way control approaches will be examined. Emphasis will be directed towards the utilization of the relatively low cost noble metal palladium for both types of application.