Heat- and corrosion-resistant catalytic materials for environmental and energy applications

Heat- and corrosion-resistant catalytic materials are essential in the field of environmental protection and energy production. In this article, recent progress in material research in this field is reviewed based on publications from the author's research group. In an automotive three-way catalyst (TWC), thermal deactivation by sintering of platinum group metal (PGM) nanoparticles can be suppressed by controlling the interfacial bonding to the surface of the support, which provides an anchoring effect. A similar concept is useful in solar thermochemical cycles to produce clean fuels, which are conducted in a high-temperature and corrosive environment containing sulfuric acid vapor. A further challenge in both applications is the replacement of PGM catalysts by economically viable catalysts. Thermally stable multicomponent transition metal oxides were proposed as a possible candidate for PGM-free TWC. A positive synergy between the different functionalities of metal elements results in high catalytic performance. Molten phases of metal vanadates, which are used for solar thermochemical cycles of sulfur, are another example of PGM-free catalysts. These examples highlight the critical roles of each metal element and their combination for obtaining synergy, which are required to further understand the ways to simultaneously achieve catalytic activity and thermal/corrosion stability. (C) 2021 The Ceramic Society of Japan. All rights reserved.