Design of materials for selective NOx detection and quantification

Enhanced regulation/enforcement on NOx pollution means optimising car catalyst performance is crucial for development of new vehicles. Metal oxide sensors fulfil many of the demands for sensing in such systems but currently fail to provide the required selectivity. We propose to develop new materials for selective quantification between NO2, NO and N2O, uniquely using in-depth surface/bulk characterisation under operando conditions (e.g. Grazing Incidence X-ray Scattering/Spectroscopy, X-ray Emission Spectroscopy and the I14 nanoprobe facility at DLS) to provide fundamental understanding and to steer design. Sensing performance will be validated in collaboration with Alphasense Ltd, a world leading gas sensor manufacturer.