Internal combustion engine having a combustion chamber surface coating or surface coating which is close to the combustion chamber and method for producing the coating

1. An internal combustion engine having at least one combustion chamber, wherein a surface of at least one component of the combustion chamber and/or of an internal-combustion-engine component which is close to the combustion chamber and carries the exhaust gas stream is at least partially coated with a catalytic coating, said surface coming into contact with an air-fuel mixture or with an exhaust gas stream, wherein

the catalytic coating has a nanostructure composed of oblong structural elements, wherein first ends of the structural elements adhere to the coated surface and second ends of the structural elements project into the combustion chamber or into the space which carries the exhaust gas stream.

2. The internal combustion engine according to claim 1 , wherein

the catalytic coating has a columnar nanostructure composed of column-like structural elements.

3. The internal combustion engine according to claim 1 , wherein

the structural elements are not cross-connected to each other.

4. The internal combustion engine according to claim 1 , wherein

a mean diameter of a cross-sectional plane of the structural elements which is arranged essentially parallel to the coated surface is 1000 nm at most.

5. The internal combustion engine according to claim 1 , wherein

a volume filling of the coating is in the range from 5 to 95.

6. The internal combustion engine according to claim 1 , wherein

the catalytic coating comprises at least one catalytically active, elemental and/or oxidic transition metal and/or noble metal.

7. The internal combustion engine according to claim 6 , wherein

the at least one noble metal is selected from the group consisting of Pt, Pd, Rh, Ni, Cu, Ag and Au.

8. The internal combustion engine according to claim 6 , wherein

the at least one transition metal is selected from the group consisting of Co, Fe, Mo, Nb, V, W, Cu and Cr.

9. The internal combustion engine according to claim 6 , wherein

the coating comprises a combination of the at least one catalytically active transition metal and/or noble metal and at least one carrier metal oxide, wherein the at least one carrier metal oxide represents a carrier and/or a matrix for the at least one transition metal and/or noble metal.

10. The internal combustion engine according to claim 9 , wherein the at least one carrier metal oxide is selected from oxides of the metals of groups IIa, IVa, IIIb, IVb and Vb of the periodic table of elements and of the rare-earth elements.

11. The internal combustion engine according to claim 9 , wherein

a weight ratio of the at least one carrier metal oxide to the at least one catalytically active transition metal and/or noble metal is in the range from 1000:1 to 1:1.

12. The internal combustion engine according to claim 9 , wherein

the at least one transition metal and/or noble metal is homogeneously distributed in the at least one carrier metal oxide or develops a concentration gradient within the at least one carrier metal oxide or is present in at least one layer of its own.

13. The internal combustion engine according to claim 9 , wherein the surface which comes into contact with the air-fuel mixture or with the exhaust gas stream is selected from the group consisting of a surface of a piston head, an inner surface of a cylinder, a surface of a cylinder head, a groove and/or a valve bottom of intake and/or outlet valves, a fuel injection nozzle, an inner surface of an exhaust manifold and/or exhaust pipe, an EGR valve, an EGR cooler and/or an inner surface of a turbocharger.