TRANSITION METAL INCORPORATED ALUMINA FOR IMPROVED THREE WAY CATALYSTS

1 . A catalyst article comprising a substrate and a catalyst composition disposed on the substrate, the catalyst composition comprising a support material having supported thereon:

one or more platinum group metals (PGMs); and

a Ta-polyoxometalate (POM).

2 . The catalyst article of claim 1 , wherein the catalyst article is for treating exhaust gas from an internal combustion engine, preferably wherein the catalyst article is a three-way catalyst (TWC) article.

3 . The catalyst article of claim 1 , wherein the Ta-POM comprises Ta-hexametalate.

4 . The catalyst article of claim 1 , wherein the one or more PGMs comprise one or more of Pt, Pd, Rh, and mixtures or alloys thereof, preferably wherein the one or more PGMs comprise Rh.

5 . The catalyst article of claim 1 , wherein the one or more PGMs comprise nanoparticles having a mean particle diameter of from 0.1 to 10 nm, preferably from 0.5 to 9 nm, more preferably from 1 to 8 nm, even more preferably from 2 to 7 nm, still more preferably from 3 to 6 nm.

6 . The catalyst article of claim 1 , wherein the support material comprises one or more of alumina and a ceria-containing mixed oxide, preferably alumina and/or a ceria-zirconia mixed oxide, more preferably alumina.

7 . The catalyst article of claim 6 , wherein the support material further comprises a dopant comprising one or more of lanthanum, neodymium, yttrium, niobium, praseodymium, hafnium, molybdenum, titanium, vanadium, zinc, cadmium, copper, silicon, calcium, barium, strontium, caesium, magnesium, potassium and sodium, more preferably one or more of lanthanum, neodymium, praseodymium, hafnium and yttrium.

8 . The catalyst article of claim 7 , wherein the dopant is present in the support material in an amount of from 0.001 to 20 wt. %, preferably from 0.5 to 10 wt. %, based on a total weight the support material.

9 . The catalyst article of claim 1 , wherein at least a portion of the Ta-POM is in direct contact with at least a portion of the one or more PGMs.

10 . The catalyst article of claim 9 , wherein at least 70 wt. % of the Ta-POM that is supported on the support material is in direct contact with at least a portion of the one or more PGMs, based on the total weight of Ta-POM supported on the support material.

11 . The catalyst article of claim 1 , wherein the molar ratio of the Ta-POM to the one or more PGMs supported on the support material is from 1:1 to 100:1, preferably from 3:1 to 70:1, more preferably from 5:1 to 50:1.

12 . The catalyst article of claim 1 , wherein the catalyst composition comprises from 0.01 to 2.0 wt. % of the one or more PGMs, preferably from 0.05 to 1.0 wt. % of the one or more PGMs, more preferably from 0.07 to 0.5 wt. % of the one or more PGMs, based on the total weight of the support material.

13 . The catalyst article of claim 1 , wherein the catalyst composition comprises from 0.01 to 20 wt. % Ta, preferably from 0.1 to 15 wt. % Ta, more preferably from 0.2 to 10 wt. % Ta, based on the total weight of the support material.

14 . The catalyst article of claim 1 , wherein the substrate is a flow-through monolith or a wall-flow filter.

15 . The catalyst article of claim 1 , wherein the catalyst composition of the catalyst article is obtained or obtainable by a method comprising:

providing a support material comprising one or more PGMs supported thereon;

providing a solution comprising a Ta-POM; and

contacting the support material with the solution.

16 . The catalyst article of claim 15 , wherein the solution comprising a Ta-POM is an aqueous solution comprising a Ta-POM.

17 . The catalyst article of claim 15 , wherein providing the support material comprising one or more PGMs supported thereon comprises pre-treating the support material comprising one or more PGMs supported thereon at a temperature of from 300 to 500° C. for from 1 to 3 hours.

18 . A catalyst article comprising a substrate and a catalyst composition disposed on the substrate, the catalyst composition comprising a support material having supported thereon:

one or more platinum group metals (PGMs); and

Ta 2 O 5 ;

wherein the catalyst composition is obtained or obtainable by a method comprising:

providing a support material comprising one or more PGMs supported thereon;

providing a solution comprising a Ta-POM;

contacting the support material with the solution to provide a support material comprising the Ta-POM supported thereon; and

calcining the support material comprising the Ta-POM supported thereon.

19 . An exhaust gas treatment system comprising a catalyst article according to claim 1 .

20 . A method of treating an exhaust gas, the method comprising passing an exhaust gas through the catalyst article of claim 1 .