Advanced lattice-engineered catalysts play a vital role in environmental and energy remediation, supporting applications such as automobile exhaust purification, indoor air emission control, and cleaner energy generation from fossil fuels. Platinum group metal (PGM) catalysts are widely used in these areas owing to their exceptional catalytic properties and durability. However, the ongoing reliance on PGMs is challenged by their limited reserves and high costs, highlighting the critical need for alternatives or improvements in catalyst design, especially as India implements stringent BS VI emission norms requiring enhanced catalytic activity.

Recent innovations in lattice engineering have led to catalysts with precisely tuned d-band centers, bi-functional mechanisms, and optimal interatomic distances. Notably, various nano-structured Pt-based alloy catalysts including Pt-Ti, Pt-Pb, Pt-Cu, Pt-Fe, Pt-Co, Pt-Ni, and Pt(Cu) with particle sizes typically below 10 nm, along with morphologically controlled PGM catalysts and advanced oxide-based materials such as mixed oxides and substituted strontium-based perovskites, have been developed. These engineered catalysts are effective in automobile exhaust treatment, indoor emission management, fuel cell technology, and cleaning of hydrogen stream generated from fossil fuels (preferential carbon monoxide oxidation, CO-PROX). The remarkable catalytic enhancements observed with these materials are attributed to tailored electronic structures and surface characteristics arising from lattice engineering. The presentation will further detail the synthesis methods, structural characterization, and diverse real-world applications of these advanced catalysts.