Boosting nitrous oxide direct decomposition performance based on samarium doping effects

• Published in: Chemical engineering journal (Lausanne, Switzerland : 1996) Switzerland : 1996), 2021-06, Vol.414, p.128643, Article 128643
• Main Authors: Liu, Hao, Chen, Jianjun, Wang, Ya, Xiong, Shangchao, Su, Ziang, Wang, Yun, Yang, Wenhao, Chu, Xuefeng, Yang, Weinan, Peng, Yue, Si, Wenzhe, Li, Junhua
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Co3O4 catalyst; In situ NAP-XPS; N2O decomposition; Redox cycle; Sm-doping
• ISSN: 1385-8947; 1873-3212
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cej.2021.128643

[Display omitted] •Sm cation was uniformly incorporated into the Co3O4 matrix via sol–gel method.•Sm0.1-Co3O4 catalyst shows a high N2O direct catalytic decomposition performance.•A redox cycle of Co3+ + Sm2+ ↔ Co2+ + Sm3+ was formed between cobalt and samarium species.•The presence of Sm changed the electron transfer pathway between N2O and Co3O4. A series of Sm-doped Co3O4 catalysts for the N2O direct catalytic decomposition were synthesized by the sol–gel method using citric acid as a chelating agent and urea as a combustion agent. The doping of Sm significantly altered the activity of N2O decomposition on the Co3O4 catalyst. Sm was incorporated into the Co3O4 matrix, leading to the distortion of Co3O4 lattice with the spinel configuration maintained. Sm-doping can effectively promote the oxygen vacancy generation, and the electron interaction between Co and Sm species occurred as the Co3+ + Sm2+ ↔ Co2+ + Sm3+ redox cycle. Combined with in situ Raman and in situ NAP-XPS results proposed that this redox cycle is the main reason that the Sm-doping accelerates the high-efficiency N2O decomposition.