CISTAR's Abhaya Datye, University of New Mexico, has published a collaborative research paper, “Transforming ceria into 2D clusters enhances catalytic activity,” in Nature. This work, conducted in partnership with researchers from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Washington State University (WSU), BASF, and the University of New Mexico (UNM), presents a major advancement in the design of high-performance emission control catalysts.

The study explores how ceria nanoparticles supported on alumina transform under reaction conditions at high temperatures (750–1000 °C) into atomically dispersed ceria and two-dimensional ceria rafts. These newly formed structures exhibit exceptional oxygen mobility, resulting in significantly enhanced reactivity in both the NO + CO reaction and CO oxidation.

Using a support of 0.1 wt% Rh / 8 wt% ceria on alumina, the research team demonstrated outstanding catalytic performance, paving the way for more effective and thermally stable emission control technologies. Read the full article in Nature: https://rdcu.be/eg4OP