Catalytic Decomposition of N2O over Rhodium-Loaded Metal Oxides

Abstract

Abstract The catalytic decomposition of dinitrogen oxide to nitrogen and oxygen was studied over various rhodium-loaded metal oxides. Rh/ZnO was found to have the highest activity. The effects of metal loading and calcination conditions upon the catalytic performance were also examined. An air-pretreated 0.5 wt% Rh/ZnO was found to be the most active catalyst with a reaction rate of 4.0 × 104 μmol (N2O) · g−1 · h−1 under conditions of 950 ppm of N2O and 5% of O2 at 300 °C.