ABSTRACT K. Y. Simon Ng This is a postdoctoral industrial fellowship awarded under the GOALI program. It is to support Dr. Haryani Permana to work in the General Motors North American Research and Development Center with Dr. David Belton. The goal of the effort is to fill a gap in the fundamental understanding of palladium-rhodium interactions in automotive emission control catalysts. The activity of a planar model catalyst is compared with the high-surface-area supported palladium-rhodium catalyst to established the relevance of the model system. The model catalyst is studied using ultrahigh-vacuum surface analysis, in-situ infrared spectroscopy, and scanning probe microscopy to gain insight on the interactions of palladium and rhodium under various conditions. This research is relevant to the design of more effective and longer lived catalytic converters for control of nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons in automotive emissions. ***
