Master degree in Materials Science

The selective catalytic reduction of NO_x to N₂ by ammonia (NH₃-SCR) plays an important role in the abatement of NOx emissions in the exhausts of diesel engines and power plants since the 1970’s. The preferred catalysts for stationary NH₃-SCR are until today based on supported vanadium oxides. However, for mobile applications the strongly varying temperatures under lean-burned exhaust gas conditions required a new type of catalyst that would combine high hydrothermal stability at elevated temperatures (>500 °C) and the high activity at low temperatures (<300 °C). Over several decades many metal loaded zeolites where tested for diesel automotive applications, but the commercialization of the NH₃-SCR technology had to wait until the discovery of the Cu-CHA system. So what makes Cu-CHA so special and how can we make the catalyst more stable to S poisoning ? The work will be developped in collaboration with a Belgian industry: UMICORE, and will consider the  characterization of Cu-zeolites catalysts, taking advantages of the combined use of different spectroscopies performed in controlled atmosphere and developping operando approaches.