The influence of fuel type on carbon deposition over precious metal containing motorcycle catalysts

The influence of fuel type on carbon deposition over precious metal containing motorcycle catalysts was studied by SEM, EPMA, XPS, TG-DTA and FTIR. The results show that the carbonaceous species are in the form of CxHy if the vehicle is fueled with MTBE blended gasoline, whereas the carbonaceous species are CxHyO for blended ethanol fuel. The majority of the carbonaceous species are deposited on the PM sites. Further, aromatic rings, alkyl groups and their partial oxidation products are found in the carbonaceous deposit.