other common catalyst deactivation mechanisms include coking with heavy carbon deposits, fouling with unreacted compounds or contaminants, sintering of catalytic metal into large crystals rather ...

In addition to being very energy intensive, operating at such temperatures can cause a buildup of unwanted deposits, a phenomenon known as coking, which reduces the lifetime of the catalyst.

Until now, however, the problem has been that a layer of carbon quickly forms on these catalysts - this is called "coking" - and the catalyst loses its effect. At TU Wien, a new approach was taken: ...