Decomposition of the mixed-metal coordination polymer—A preparation route of the active Ag/Yb2O3 catalyst for the deN2O process

•Novel low temperature catalyst for direct N2O decomposition.•Ag nanoparticles and Yb2O3.•Pre-organization in bimetallic coordination polymer.

Ag nanoparticles in a Yb2O3 matrix catalyzed the direct decomposition of N2O to the elements. Our investigations included X-ray powder diffraction and electron microscopy; they revealed a remarkable dependence of the catalytic activity on the catalyst preparation method that influenced the size of Ag crystallites. Simple precipitation followed by calcination resulted in the formation of a catalyst with rather large Ag crystallites, which showed low activity. In contrast, thermal decomposition of the mixed-metal Ag–Yb coordination polymer provided the Ag/Yb2O3 catalytic system with distinctly smaller Ag crystallites. The coordination-polymer derived catalyst exhibited much higher activity in the deN2O process at moderate temperature range 400–500 °C.

Graphical abstractHard to make but attractive as a catalyst—thermal decomposition of a mixed-metal Ag(I)/Yb(III) coordination polymer affords Ag nanoparticles in a Yb2O3 matrix. This system catalyzes the decomposition of N2O to the elements at moderate temperatures.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide