In situ growth of ZnO nanorods on monolithic diesel particulate filters and supporting potassium for catalytic soot combustion

Abstract

Soot particulate is one of the most important pollutants emitted from diesel engines. A monolithic wall-flow diesel particulate filter (DPF) is a commercial technology for the removal of soot via filtration and subsequent combustion with/without catalysts. Herein, in situ grown ZnO nanorods on DPFs are applied to improve both soot and potassium (K)-based catalyst dispersion efficiency and thus enhancing the activity of DPF regeneration. The pretreatment and hydrothermal synthesis procedures for the homogenously covered ZnO nanorod arrays were specifically investigated on aluminum titanate (Al2TiO5) and silicon carbide (SiC) and compared with cordierite (Mg2Al4Si5O18). Potassium carbonate (K2CO3) is further supported on these monolithic substrates with in situ grown ZnO nanorods acting as catalytic active components for soot combustion. The coexistence of in situ grown ZnO nanorods and K active species on the three monoliths leads to much better soot combustion activity than those bare monoliths. The ZnO nanorods can not only trap soot to improve the contact efficiency between soot and catalysts, but also disperse the active K species. This demonstrates a promising strategy to develop highly active catalytic DPF for diesel soot removal.