Active coordination sites of Co spinel oxides for NO reduction by CO

Abstract

Cobalt spinel oxides, containing octahedral (Oh) and tetrahedral (Td) sites, exhibit high activity for NO reduction by CO. The active sites of cobalt spinel oxides for NO–CO reaction was identified using various cobalt spinel oxides having different CoOh/CoTd ratio. Comparing the CoOh/CoTd ratio determined by EXAFS fitting analysis and the rate of NO reduction, it was clarified that octahedral site is responsible for NO reduction by CO. Furthermore, synchrotron-based in-situ XAFS measurements unveiled the contribution of CoOh sites: The cobalt spinel oxides with high CoOh fraction were more easily reduced by CO to form oxygen vacancies than those with low CoOh fraction, and resulted in the higher activity for NO reduction by CO.