Direct decomposition of nitric oxide into nitrogen and oxygen over C-type cubic Y2O3–ZrO2 solid solutions

C-type cubic yttria–zirconia (Y2O3–ZrO2) solid solutions were found to exhibit high activity in NO direct decomposition. Effects of Zr4+ substitution for Y3+ in (Y1−xZrx)2O3+x solid solutions were studied on the catalytic activity in the direct decomposition of NO. Among several compositions investigated in this study, the highest NO conversion was observed for (Y0.94Zr0.06)2O3.06. On this catalyst, NO conversion was enhanced with increasing the reaction temperature, and at 1000 °C, NO direct conversion into N2 attained the value of 44%. This result suggests that the C-type cubic yttria–zirconia solid solutions are also the potential candidates for the NO direct decomposition catalysts at elevated temperatures.