Preparation and characterization of sodium titanate nanorods on the surface of cordierite for soot catalytic combustion

Particulate matter is one of the main pollutants emitted by diesel engines and is harmful to human health and the environment. In this study, sodium titanate nanorod catalysts were synthesized on the surface of cordierite using the molten salt method, and the effects of calcination time on the morphology and performance of the catalysts were investigated by the single factor method. The results demonstrated that the sodium titanate nanorods with lengths of 300–650 nm and widths of 100–250 nm were formed on the surface of the cordierite substrate. These monolithic catalysts exhibited high catalytic activities for soot combustion in gravitational contact mode. Notably, the sample with a calcination time of 3 h had the highest catalytic activity among all the catalysts investigated, with T10 and T50 were 454 °C and 503 °C, respectively. In addition, thermogravimetric tests were conducted at four heating rates of 5, 10, 15, and 20 K/min, and the thermogravimetric curves were linearly fitted to obtain the soot catalytic oxidation activation energy and the pre-exponential factor. This study demonstrates that sodium titanate nanorods have potential applications in diesel particulate filter regeneration.