Patent ID: 7758660

Claim:
A catalyst composition suitable for application to a fuel substrate in order to modify the combustion properties thereof, comprising: a plurality of primary catalyst atoms comprising iron, the catalyst atoms forming a plurality of nanoparticles having a particle size of less than 1 micron; at least a portion of the catalyst atoms in the nanoparticles forming a crystal lattice having a plurality of crystal planes exposed at a surface thereof, wherein the spacing between the crystal planes is greater than about 0.28 nm; and a plurality of organic dispersing agent molecules bonded to at least a portion of the catalyst atoms of the nanoparticles, each dispersing agent molecule comprising one or more functional groups selected from the group consisting of a hydroxyl, a carboxyl, a carbonyl, an amine, an amide, a nitrile, a nitrogen having a free lone pair of electrons, an amino acid, an amine, a thiol, a sulfonic acid, a sulfonyl halide, and an acyl halide, wherein the dispersing agent molecules are bonded with the catalyst atoms through the one or more functional groups, wherein the catalyst composition has been heat activated by heating to a temperature greater than 150° C.