updated June 06 2015
A CATALYTIC EXHAUST PIPE in the TEM
Due to European standards since Euro 4, Diesel Particulate Filters are now compulsory on Diesel car motors to diminish Particle Matter emissions through a regeneration phase in which the collected soot is oxidized. A catalyst, here Yttria-Stabilised Zirconia is then used to optimize the soot oxidation. In this low res video sequence recorded at 495°C under 10-2 mbar of oxygen in the EtTEM (full time about 4'), a soot particulate is consumed at the contact with a ZrO2 crystallite. Magnification is increased at the end of the sequence to insure atomic resolution; it is seen that some (metallic) impurity present in this soot synthetized in the laboratory does not burn [A. SERVE et al., Applied Catalysis A: General, (2015), online www.elsevier.com/locate/apcata].
Note: the video sequences should run at a 10 frames-per-seconds speed in nominal conditions (fluent internet traffic)
