N₂O Decomposed by Discharge Plasma with Catalysts

A great deal of attention has been focused on discharge plasma as it can rapidly decompose N₂O without additives, which is not only a kind of greenhouse gas but also a kind of damages to the ozone layer. The thermal equilibrium plasma is chosen to combine with catalysts to decompose N₂O, and its characteristics are analyzed in the present paper. The results indicate that NO and NO₂ were formed besides N₂ and O₂ during N₂O decomposition when N₂O was treated merely by discharge plasma. Concentration of NO declined greatly when the discharge plasma was combined with catalysts. Results of Raman spectra analysis on CeO₂, Ce0.75Zr0.25O₂ and Ce0.5Zr0.5O₂ imply that the products selectivity has been obviously improved in discharge plasma decomposing N₂O because of the existence of massive oxygen vacancies over the composite oxide catalysts.