Electrochemical promotion in emission control catalysis

Electrochemical promotion for the catalytic reduction of NO by CO and of NO by ethylene over a Pt catalyst are reported for the first time. Both reactions are of importance in the catalytic control of automotive emissions and both exhibit strong rate enhancement when Na is pumped to the Pt catalyst electrode from a β″ solid electrolyte. Complementary data obtained with a Pt(111)/Na model system indicate that electrochemically-pumped Na acts by inducing dissociation of chemisorbed NO, which is the reaction initiating step. Paper presented at the 1st Euroconference on Solid State Ionics, Zakynthos, Greece, 11 – 18 Sept. 1994.