(401b) Strontium-Doped Perovskites Rival Platinum Catalysts for Treating NOx in Simulated Diesel Exhaust

The high cost and poor thermal durability of current lean NOx aftertreatment catalysts are one of the major barriers to widespread adoption of highly fuel efficient Diesel engines. Here, we demonstrate strontium-doped perovskite oxides as efficient platinum substitutes in Diesel oxidation (DOC) and lean NOx trap (LNT) catalysts. The La-based perovskite catalysts coated on monolith substrates showed excellent activities for the NO oxidation reaction, a critical step that demands heavy usage of Pt in a current Diesel aftertreatment system. Under realistic conditions, La1-xSrxCoO3 catalysts achieved higher NO to NO2 conversions than a commercial Pt-based DOC catalyst. Similarly, a La0.9Sr0.1MnO3-based LNT catalyst achieved comparable NOx reduction performance to a commercial Pt-based counterpart. The results show promise for a considerably lower cost Diesel exhaust treatment system.