Catalytic decomposition of N2O on ZrO2 and Co/Ni/ZrO2 systems

Abstract

Monoclinic ZrO2 and its supported catalysts Co/Ni/ZrO2 for catalytic decomposition of N2O have been studied with FTIR, EDAX, XPS, and the evaluation of activity of the catalysts. It is found that monoclinic ZrO2 alone has the catalytic effect for N2O decomposition although the gas decomposes on Co/Ni/ZrO2 more efficiently. The XPS study shows that only Co exists in the surface region of ZrO2. In evaluation experiments, it is found that when Co/Ni exceeds a threshold concentration, the conversion of N2O is no longer accelerated with the increase of Co/Ni content. The gas decomposition on Co/Ni/ZrO2 can be described as first order with respect to partial pressure of N2O. No nitrogen N(1s) photoelectrons were detected for the catalysts after N2O decomposition. Surface reactions on ZrO2 and Co/Ni/ZrO2, including the behaviour of retained carbon (C1s) and N2O decomposition mechanism, will also be addressed.