Abstract: A proton conductor includes a metal ion, an oxoanion, and a molecule capable of undergoing protonation or deprotonation, in which at least one of the oxoanion and the molecule capable of undergoing protonation or deprotonation coordinates to the metal ion to form a coordination polymer. The oxoanion is preferably a monomer. The oxoanion is exemplified by at least one selected from the group consisting of phosphate ion, hydrogenphosphate ion, and dihydrogenphosphate ion. The molecule capable of undergoing protonation or deprotonation is exemplified by at least one selected from the group consisting of imidazole, triazole, benzimidazole, benzotriazole, and derivatives thereof.

Abstract: Particles for catalyst which have a function of absorbing and desorbing oxygen, the particles comprising an iron compound in which an element, other than Fe, having two valences is solid-soluted in an oxide of Fe having three valences, and a method for producing the particles for catalyst which comprises precipitating a precipitate containing Fe having three valences and an element, other than Fe, having two valences from a solution containing ions of Fe having three valences and ions of the element, other than Fe, having two valences, and drying and firing the precipitate to produce the particles.

Abstract: A ceramic body that can support a required amount of catalyst component, without lowering the characteristics such as strength, manufactured without forming a coating layer and providing a high performance ceramic catalyst body that is excellent in practical utility and durability. This ceramic body is made by substituting at least one of the constituent elements of cordierite that constitutes the substrate ceramic, for example Al, with W that is the element having an empty orbit in d or f orbit, has high bonding strength and is less susceptible to deterioration since the catalyst component Pt is supported by means of chemical bonding.

Abstract: A catalyst assembly comprising a substrate, nanofilaments which have a nanometer-size diameter and are formed on the substrate, and particles which have a nanometer-size diameter, at least one of the nanofilaments and the particles having a catalytic function, is provided to use a catalyst more efficiently and to provide a catalytic function more efficiently. Interstices between the nanofilaments serve as distribution channels of a reactive gas, and the reactive gas spreads sufficiently not only around the ends of nanofilaments but also inside a catalyst assembly. A combination of nanofilaments and particles enables dispersion of a catalyst at a distance of not more than about 100 nanometers.

Abstract: A method for producing a mesoporous body, which comprises preparing an aqueous solution containing a template component (20) serving as a mold of pores of the mesoporous body, dissolving a raw material of the mesoporous body in the aqueous solution to obtain a precipitate, and drying and firing the precipitate, wherein the aqueous solution to be used contains, in addition to the template component (20), an organic solvent having an affinity for a hydrophobic moiety of the template component (20).

Abstract: A process for production of a mesoporous structure wherein fine particles having a mean particle size smaller than the size of pores of a mesoporous body formed using a template are formed in the pores of the mesoporous body. The process comprises the steps of: preparing an aqueous solution comprising a mixture of the template and the fine particles, heating and pressurizing the aqueous solution to bring the water in the aqueous solution to a subcritical water state, returning the aqueous solution to a state at a room temperature and under atmospheric pressure, dissolving the starting material of the mesoporous body in the aqueous solution and heating it to form a precipitate comprising the template, fine particles and starting material of the mesoporous body, and separating, drying and firing the precipitate to burn off the template from the precipitate.

Abstract: Particles for catalyst which have a function of absorbing and desorbing oxygen, the particles comprising an iron compound in which an element, other than Fe, having two valences is solid-soluted in an oxide of Fe having three valences, and a method for producing the particles for catalyst which comprises precipitating a precipitate containing Fe having three valences and an element, other than Fe, having two valences from a solution containing ions of Fe having three valences and ions of the element, other than Fe, having two valences, and drying and firing the precipitate to produce the particles.

Abstract: This invention aims at providing a catalyst body exhibiting a lower degradation of a catalyst due to thermal durability and capable of keeping higher catalyst performance for a long time. A catalyst component such as Pt is directly supported by Zr, W, etc, replacing elements inside a support such as Al of cordierite to provide a catalyst body without forming a coating layer. A combination of the catalyst component and the element inside the support is selected so that support strength is greater than 5 eV by simulation using a density functional method. Coarsening of catalyst particles can be suppressed and a high-performance catalyst body excellent in thermal durability can be obtained.

Abstract: (i) In a ceramic catalyst body which comprises a ceramic carrier which has a multitude of pores capable of supporting a catalyst directly on the surface of a substrate ceramic and a catalyst supported on the ceramic carrier, a layer containing an anti-evaporation metal such as Rh is formed on the outer surface of catalyst metal particles such as Pt or Rh. The layer containing the anti-evaporation metal protects the catalyst metal and prevents evaporation thereof, thereby suppressing the deterioration; and/or (ii) A ceramic catalyst body is made by having a main catalyst component and a promoter component directly on a ceramic carrier which can directly support the catalyst by substituting a part of the constituent elements of cordierite, and a trap layer is provided in the upstream thereof for trapping sulfur which is a catalyst poisoning component included in the exhaust gas.

Abstract: A catalyst assembly comprising a substrate, nanofilaments which have a nanometer-size diameter and are formed on the substrate, and particles which have a nanometer-size diameter, at least one of the nanofilaments and the particles having a catalytic function, is provided to use a catalyst more efficiently and to provide a catalytic function more efficiently. Interstices between the nanofilaments serve as distribution channels of a reactive gas, and the reactive gas spreads sufficiently not only around the ends of nanofilaments but also inside a catalyst assembly. A combination of nanofilaments and particles enables dispersion of a catalyst at a distance of not more than about 100 nanometers.

Abstract: This invention aims at achieving early activation by use of a catalytic body having a low thermal capacity, and a low pressure loss, without using a coating layer to reduce exhaust emission. The invention is directed also to improve exhaust purification performance by improving the combination of catalytic bodies and performance of each catalytic body. In the invention, a start catalyst 1 is arranged at an upstream portion of an exhaust pipe P of a car engine E and a three way catalyst 2 is disposed on the downstream side. The start catalyst 1 can directly support catalytic components through chemical bonds by incorporating replacing elements into a substrate ceramic having high heat resistance such as cordierite. Because a coating layer is not necessary, the catalyst of the invention has a low heat capacity and a large open area and achieves reduction of exhaust emission, and reduction of a pressure loss, through early activation.

Abstract: The object of the present invention is to provide a ceramic body that can support a required amount of a catalyst component, without lowering the characteristics such as strength, being manufactured without forming a coating layer and providing a high performance ceramic catalyst that is excellent in practical utility and durability. A noble metal catalyst is supported directly on the surface of the ceramic body and the second component, consisting of compound or composite compound of element having d or f orbit in the electron orbits thereof such as W, Co, Ti, Fe, Ga and Nb, is dispersed in the first component made of cordierite or the like that constitutes the substrate ceramic. The noble metal catalyst can be directly supported by bonding strength generated by sharing the d or f orbits of the second component, or through interaction with the dangling bond that is generated in the interface between the first component and the second component.

Abstract: Catalyst particles having a higher activity and capable of showing activities for a plurality of kinds of material are provided. The catalyst particles of the invention comprise base particles that consist of one kind of single material fine particles or two or more kinds of solid solution fine particles having primary particle diameters of a nanometer order, and a surface coating layer made of one or more kind of noble metal, or an oxide of noble metal, that covers at least a part of the surface of the base particles 1 to a thickness of one to thirty single atom layers.

Abstract: The object of the present invention is to provide a ceramic body that can support a required amount of a catalyst component, without lowering the characteristics such as strength, being manufactured without forming a coating layer and providing a high performance ceramic catalyst that is excellent in practical utility and durability.

Abstract: This invention aims at providing a catalyst body exhibiting a lower degradation of a catalyst due to thermal durability and capable of keeping higher catalyst performance for a long time. A catalyst component such as Pt is directly supported by Zr, W, etc, replacing elements inside a support such as Al of cordierite to provide a catalyst body without forming a coating layer. A combination of the catalyst component and the element inside the support is selected so that support strength is greater than 5 eV by simulation using a density functional method. Coarsening of catalyst particles can be suppressed and a high-performance catalyst body excellent in thermal durability can be obtained.

Abstract: In a catalyst body using a direct support, this invention provides a ceramic catalyst body capable of adjusting catalyst performance in accordance with intended objects such as prevention of deactivation of a main catalyst component when an sub catalyst component is used, or improvement of initial purification performance. When both main catalyst component and sub catalyst component are supported on a ceramic support capable of directly supporting the catalyst components, the invention first supports a catalyst metal as a main catalyst such as Pt, for example, and then supports the sub catalyst such as CeO2 on the main catalyst. The main catalyst is thus prevented from being involved in the grain growth of the sub catalyst, and becomes a catalyst body that does not easily undergo thermal deactivation. The ceramic support uses cordierite, a part of the constituent elements of which are replaced, so that the replacing elements so introduced can directly support the catalyst components.

Abstract: A catalyst ceramic body employing a directly supporting carrier, wherein particle growth due to aggregation of the catalyst particles during loading of the catalyst is suppressed to yield fine particles, thereby improving the purification performance. According to the invention, the base material is cordierite with a portion of its constituent elements substituted, and when a catalyst component such as Pt is to be supported on a ceramic carrier capable of directly supporting a catalyst component on the introduced substituting elements, a precursor for the Pt is loaded and then sintered in a reducing atmosphere. Using a reducing atmosphere allows the metallization temperature to be as low as about 400° C., thereby reducing thermal vibration and suppressing aggregation in order to achieve an effect of reducing the mean particle size of the catalyst to about 100 nm or smaller.

Abstract: This invention aims at achieving early activation by use of a catalytic body having a low thermal capacity, and a low pressure loss, without using a coating layer to reduce exhaust emission. The invention is directed also to improve exhaust purification performance by improving the combination of catalytic bodies and performance of each catalytic body. In the invention, a start catalyst 1 is arranged at an upstream portion of an exhaust pipe P of a car engine E and a three way catalyst 2 is disposed on the downstream side. The start catalyst 1 can directly support catalytic components through chemical bonds by incorporating replacing elements into a substrate ceramic having high heat resistance such as cordierite. Because a coating layer is not necessary, the catalyst of the invention has a low heat capacity and a large open area and achieves reduction of exhaust emission, and reduction of a pressure loss, through early activation.

Abstract: The invention provides a gas concentration detection element that can prevent the drop of catalytic activity due to thermal aggregation of catalyst particles under high temperature conditions, can maintain a stable output for a long time and can be easily produced at a low production cost. A reference electrode 12 is formed on an inner surface of a cup-like oxygen ion conductive solid electrolyte 11 and a detection electrode 13 is formed on its outer surface to constitute a gas concentration detection element 1 for detecting a specific gas component in a measured gas. A catalyst layer 15 is constituted by directly supporting a catalyst component on ceramic support particles, such as particles of element-substituted cordierite, through a chemical bond so that both bonding strength and durability can be improved.

Abstract: The present invention has an object to obtain a ceramic body that can support a required amount of catalyst component, without lowering the characteristics such as strength, being manufactured without forming a coating layer and providing a high performance ceramic catalyst body that is excellent in practical utility and durability.