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Why should leaded gasoline not be used in cars equipped with catalytic converters?
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These pollutants include nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, and many unburned hydrocarbons. The catalytic converter transforms these harmful substances into less harmful ones such as nitrogen gas, oxygen gas, carbon dioxide, and water. Show more…
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What does the catalytic converter do in the exhaust system of an automobile? Why should leaded gasoline not be used in cars equipped with catalytic converters?
Why is the platinum/rhodium catalyst in automobile catalytic converters dispersed on the surface of a ceramic rather than used in the form of a thin metal foil?
During the 1970 s, at the time when catalytic converters began to be installed on automobiles, tetraethyllead, which was used to improve the octane rating of gasoline, was gradually removed from gasoline at the pump. In the combustion chamber of the engine the four ethyl groups in tetraethyllead are converted to carbon dioxide and water, leaving either elemental lead or lead(II) oxide. In a modern automobile, burning a single tank of leaded gasoline can ruin the catalytic converter, destroying nearly all of the catalytic activity. Based on what you learned about the mechanism of reactions in a catalytic converter, suggest a reason that lead in gasoline might destroy the catalyst's ability to speed up reactions.
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