What is inside a catalytic converter?

So what is a catalytic converter made of? The catalyst inside a catalytic converter is made typically from platinum or a similar metal, such as rhodiumor palladium. Gases flow through a ceramic honeycomb structure located within the cat housing. This is lined with metals that have specific jobs that play a role in reducing emissions. There are two main types of catalysts that might be featured in a car:

Reduction catalysts: Help reduce nitrogen oxide pollution by removing oxygen. Nitrogen oxides are broke nup into nitrogen and oxygen gases, which on their own are harmless.

Oxidationcatalysts: Used to change carbon monoxide into carbon dioxide through an opposite process of adding oxygen.

Also located near the catalytic converter is an oxygen (O2) sensor, which works to tell a car’s electronic control unit (ECU) how much oxygen is found in the exhaust gases. This helps a vehicle run on a more efficient air/fuel ratio,allowing the engine to supply the converter with enough oxygen to complete the oxidation process.