Potassium-doped Co3O4 catalyst for direct decomposition of N2O

Abstract Direct decomposition of nitrous oxide (N 2 O) on K-doped Co 3 O 4 catalysts was examined. The K-doped Co 3 O 4 catalyst showed a high activity even in the presence of water. In the durability test of the K-doped Co 3 O 4 catalyst, the activity was maintained at least for 12 h. It was found that the activity of the K-doped Co 3 O 4 catalyst strongly depended on the amount of K in the catalyst. In order to reveal the role of the K component on the catalytic activity, the catalyst was characterized by XRD, XPS, TPR and TPD. The results suggested that regeneration of the Co 2+ species from the Co 3+ species formed by oxidation of Co 2+ with the oxygen atoms formed by N 2 O decomposition was promoted by the addition of K to the Co 3 O 4 catalyst.