With all of the technological advances lately, couldn’t a catalytic converter be designed with cheaper materials that aren’t worth stealing?

Question

With all of the technological advances lately, couldn’t a catalytic converter be designed with cheaper materials that aren’t worth stealing?

In: 2057

Answer 1

I believe there are only 7 known metals that can be used in catalytic converters. They need special properties to convert exhaust to less harmful gases.

You could easily create a converter that is less valuable to theft by making it more difficult and costly to recycle, but theft isn’t enough of a problem that it is worth intentionally making them more difficult to recycle.

That being said, maybe after he is done revolutionizing modern technology once again, John Goodenough (the rockstar of material sciences) might dedicate half a afternoon to creating a new renewable converter part with a 700 year part life.