The work proposed is a collaboration with the laboratory of Horst Hahn of the Materials Science Department of the University of Darmstadt, Germany. The goal of the research is tto develop novel methane oxidation catalysts for use in catalytic converters in automobiles that run on natural gas. The catalysts will consist of nobel metals such as silver, palladium, gold, and platinum. A novel aspect of the work will be the use of nanocrystalline oxide supports. Natural gas as a fuel is less costly per unit of energy than gasoline, and, if properly burned, less damaging to the environment. The catalysts studied in this work are designed for long life and high efficiency.
