Project description
Investing in gold could be good for your health and the environment
Engines warm up after the ignition is turned on and particularly while the vehicle is in motion. While this is of benefit to cats lucky enough to find a freshly parked car on a cold winter night, it has been an obstacle to increasing the performance of catalytic converters. Gold nanoparticles have superior catalytic capability compared to currently used platinum group metals, particularly at lower temperatures, and could therefore significantly decrease toxic emissions during engine ignition. However, they lose their activity at elevated temperatures at which the conventional materials do an excellent job. The EU-funded np-Gold project is developing ways to integrate bulk gold with nanopores into converter products instead. It exhibits the same catalytic properties as gold nanoparticles at lower temperatures and withstands the heat during driving, a winning combination for our health and the environment.
Fields of science
- natural scienceschemical sciencesinorganic chemistrytransition metals
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringair pollution engineering
- natural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesenvironmental sciencespollution
- natural scienceschemical sciencescatalysis
- engineering and technologynanotechnologynano-materials
Keywords
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
ERC-POC - Proof of Concept Grant
Host institution
32000 Haifa
Israel
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Beneficiaries (1)
32000 Haifa
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