CONTROL APPARATUS FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE

A control apparatus for an internal combustion engine for adjusting an amount of air passing through a catalyst during fuel cut-off operation of the internal combustion engine, the temperature of the catalyst is caused to rise, when the fuel cut-off operation of the internal combustion engine is carried out in a state where the temperature of the catalyst is low. The apparatus is constructed such that in cases where the fuel cut-off operation is carried out in a state where the temperature of the catalyst is relatively low but equal to or higher than an activation temperature thereof, the amount of air passing through the catalyst is made larger in a period of time in which the catalyst becomes a rich atmosphere immediately after the start of the fuel cut-off operation, in comparison with a subsequent period of time in which the catalyst becomes a lean atmosphere.