In one aspect, structural catalyst bodies comprising one or more gradients of catalytic material are provided herein. In some embodiments, a structural catalyst body described herein comprises an inner partition wall having a first surface and a second surface opposite the first surface, the inner partition wall having a gradient of catalytic material along the width of the inner partition wall.

The present disclosure features a method of making an engine aftertreatment catalyst, where the engine aftertreatment catalyst includes a metal oxide, a metal zeolite, and/or vanadium oxide when the metal oxide is different from vanadium oxide, each of which can be independently surface-modified with a surface modifier. The method includes providing a solution including an organic solvent and an organometallic compound; mixing the solution with a metal oxide, a metal zeolite, and/or a vanadium oxide to provide a mixture; drying the mixture; and calcining the mixture to provide a surface-modified metal oxide catalyst, a surface-modified metal zeolite catalyst, and/or a surface-modified vanadium oxide catalyst. The organometallic compound can be, for example, a metal alkoxide, a metal carboxylate, a metal acetylacetonate, and/or a metal organic acid ester.

Catalytic cores for a wall-flow filter include juxtaposed channels extending longitudinally between an inlet side and an outlet side of the core, wherein the inlet channels are plugged at the outlet side and outlet channels are plugged at the inlet side. Longitudinal walls forming the inlet and outlet channels separate the inlet channels from the outlet channels. The walls include pores that create passages extending across a width of the walls from the inlet channels to the outlet channels. Catalysts are distributed across the width and length of the walls within internal surfaces of the pores in a manner such that the loading of each catalyst across the width varies by less than 50% from an average loading across the width.

An exhaust gas-purifying catalyst includes a support and a catalytic metal supported thereby. The support includes a composite oxide represented by AO.xB.sub.2-C.sub.O.sub.3, wherein A represents at least one of an element having a valence of 1 and an element having a valence of 2, B represents an element having a valence of 3, C represents one or more elements selected from iridium, ruthenium, tantalum, niobium, molybdenum, and tungsten, x represents a numerical value of 1 to 6, and a represents a numerical value greater than 0 and less than 2. The catalytic metal includes one or more precious metals selected from rhodium, palladium, and platinum.

A lean NO.sub.x trap for the treatment of exhaust gas emissions, such as the oxidation of unburned hydrocarbons (HC), and carbon monoxide (CO), and the trapping and reduction of nitrogen oxides (NO.sub.x) is disclosed. Nitrogen oxide storage catalysts can comprise a layer on a substrate including ceria-alumina particles having a ceria phase present in a weight percent of the composite in the range of about 20% to about 80% on an oxide basis, an alkaline earth metal component supported on the ceria-alumina particles, wherein the CeO.sub.2 is present in the form of crystallites that are hydrothermally stable and have an average crystallite size less than 130 after aging at 950 C. for 5 hours in 2% O.sub.2 and 10% steam in N.sub.2.

A catalyst for the treatment of exhaust gas emissions is disclosed. The catalyst can comprise ceria-alumina particles having a ceria phase present in a weight percent of the composite in the range of about 20% to about 80% on an oxide basis, an alkaline earth metal component supported on the ceria-alumina particles, wherein the CeO.sub.2 is present in the form of crystallites that are hydrothermally stable and have an average crystallite size less than 160 after aging at 950 C. for 5 hours in 2% O.sub.2 and 10% steam in N.sub.2.

In some examples, a solid oxide fuel cell system including a solid oxide fuel cell; an ejector, wherein the ejector is configured to receive a fuel recycle stream from a fuel side outlet of the solid oxide fuel cell and also receive a primary fuel stream, wherein the ejector is configured such that the flow of the primary fuel stream draws the fuel recycle stream into the ejector and mix the fuel recycle and primary fuel stream to form a mixed fuel stream including methane and higher hydrocarbons; and a higher hydrocarbon reduction unit configured to receive the mixed fuel stream from the ejector and remove a portion of the higher hydrocarbons via a catalytic conversion process to form a reduced higher hydrocarbon fuel stream, wherein a fuel side inlet of the solid oxide fuel cell is configured to receive the reduced higher hydrocarbon fuel stream from a reduction unit.

The present invention is concerned with oxygen storage materials. In particular an oxygen storage material (OSM) is proposed which comprises a certain mixed oxide as the oxygen storage component. The oxygen storage material can be used in conventional manner in three-way catalysts or NOx-storage catalysts for example.

Nitrogen oxide storage catalysts comprising a substrate and at least two coating layers, where the second layer is substantially free of platinum, cerium and barium, and methods of manufacturing and using these nitrogen oxide storage catalysts are disclosed.

A passive NO.sub.x adsorber is disclosed. The passive NO.sub.x adsorber is effective to adsorb NO.sub.x at or below a low temperature and release the adsorbed NO.sub.x at temperatures above the low temperature. The passive NO.sub.x adsorber comprises a noble metal and a molecular sieve having an LTL Framework Type. The invention also includes an exhaust system comprising the passive NO.sub.x adsorber, and a method for treating exhaust gas from an internal combustion engine utilizing the passive NO.sub.x adsorber.