The present invention details a process for producing a catalyst powder. The steps of the process include preparing catalyst slurry, drying, pyrolyzing, and calcining the catalyst slurry to obtain a calcined catalyst powder. The catalyst slurry comprises a catalyst, a liquid carrier, a templating agent, and a catalyst substrate. The catalyst slurry is dried to obtain a raw catalyst powder. The raw catalyst powder is heated in a first controlled atmosphere to obtain a pyrolyzed catalyst powder and the pyrolyzed catalyst powder is calcined in a second controlled atmosphere to obtain a calcined catalyst powder. A method of fabricating a catalyst surface and catalytic converter using the prepared catalyst powder is also illustrated.