Promotional Effect of Ag on the Catalytic Decomposition of N2O in the Presence of O2 over the Al2O3-Supported Rh Catalyst

Catalytic decomposition of N2O into N2 and O2 is one of the most important techniques for removing N2O from the atmosphere to curb global warming. Supported RhOx catalysts are known to show high efficiency for N2O decomposition, even in the presence of O2, compared with other materials, such as supported metal oxides and Fe-based zeolite catalysts. In this study, the addition of Ag was found to enhance the efficiency of an Al2O3-supported RhOx catalyst (RhOx/Al2O3) for N2O decomposition. The promotional effect of Ag was investigated using various operando spectroscopic methods, including X-ray absorption spectroscopy, diffuse reflectance UV–vis spectroscopy (DR UV–vis), ambient-pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and kinetic studies. The results demonstrated that the addition of Ag enhanced the catalytic efficiency of the supported RhOx catalysts by enhancing the thermal reduction of Rh oxide, which was identified as the rate-determining step, especially at low temperatures.