To prevent global warming, further reductions in carbon dioxide are required. It is therefore important to promote the spread of electric vehicles powered by internal combustion engines and electric vehicles without internal combustion engines. As a result, emissions from hybrid electric vehicles equipped with internal combustion engines should be further reduced. Interest in catalytic reactions in an electric field with a higher catalytic activity compared to conventional catalysts has increased because this technology consumes less energy than other electrical heating devices. This study was therefore undertaken to apply a catalytic reaction in an electric field to an exhaust emission control. First, the original experimental equipment was built with a high voltage system used to conduct catalytic activity tests. Second, experiments with palladium cerium-zirconium oxide support catalysts showed that a three-way catalytic activity in an electric field could be found. at lower exhaust temperatures than conventional catalysts. Then it became clear that catalytic compositions that include semiconductor properties are a key for researching and developing this technology. In addition, applied electrical current control has been shown to be another focus of research and development. Finally, experimental results with several reducing species demonstrate that the electron-promoted surface proton and lattice oxygen greatly contributed to catalytic activity in an electric field.

For future removal of NOx by catalysts, low-temperature NO reduction is desired. Results confirmed that a drastic improvement of catalytic activity by H2O on NO–CO–O2 reaction over Pd/La0.9Ba0.1AlO3-δ catalyst at the low temperature of 473 K or below. In a humidified condition, NO reaction with CO on Pd/La0.9Ba0.1AlO3-δ proceeded without being affected by competitive adsorption of NO and CO, whereas that on Pd/Al2O3 was inhibited by strong adsorption of CO on a Pd surface. From in-situ DRIFTS measurements, results showed that nitrite species on the support react with CO adsorbed onto Pd at the periphery of Pd particles and that carbonate species accumulated on Pd/La0.9Ba0.1AlO3-δ are removed rapidly in a humidified condition. Although NO reduction proceeds dominantly on the Pd surface in a dry condition, supplied steam promotes desorption of the surface carbonate to advance the reaction of nitrite with CO for de-NOx in a humidified condition. This mechanism occurs specifically on Pd/La0.9Ba0.1AlO3-δ by virtue of the lattice oxygen and oxygen vacancy on La0.9Ba0.1AlO3-δ.