US Patent 7323432 - Auto exhaust purification using nanofilament array

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7323432.html

This patent from Denso is at the intersection of nanotech and cleantech and includes some basic claims to nanofilaments for purifying automobile exhaust gas. Claim 1 reads:

1. An automobile exhaust gas purifying device comprising a catalyst assembly comprising a substrate, nanofilaments which have a nanometer-size diameter and are formed on the substrate, and particles which have a nanometer-size diameter of not more than approximately 100 nanometers, at least one of the nanofilaments and the particles having a catalytic function; wherein the nanofilaments extend from a surface of the substrate; and the particles are supported on the nanofilament.