LiCoO2 catalyst for diesel particulate abatement

This paper concerns the development of a LiCoO2 catalyst which shows appreciable activity towards the catalytic combustion of soot already at 300 °C. An in situ combustion synthesis method was then tailored to the preparation of a LiCoO2-catalysed trap based on a silicon carbide wall-flow monolith. Engine bench tests on this catalytic trap (trap loading with soot and then its regeneration induced by a temperature rise entailed by catalytic combustion of post-injected fuel) showed that the presence of the catalyst in the wall-flow trap enables both a more complete regeneration (78% opposed to just 52% of the non-catalytic trap) and a reduction of the regeneration time, with consequent saving of post-injected fuel.