Boosting nitrous oxide direct decomposition performance based on samarium doping effects

A series of Sm-doped Co 3 O 4 catalysts for the N 2 O 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 N 2 O decomposition on the Co 3 O 4 catalyst. Sm was incorporated into the Co 3 O 4 matrix, leading to the distortion of Co 3 O 4 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 Co 3+  + Sm 2+  ↔ Co 2+  + Sm 3+ 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 N 2 O decomposition.