Co x Mg 3-x /Al hydrotalcite-like compounds (where x ) 0.0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0) were synthesized by the coprecipitation method and characterized by the XRD and TGA techniques. Incorporation of Co for x ) 0.0-3.0 gradually decreased the transformation temperature of the hydrotalcites to the corresponding oxides from 444 to 246°C and also decreased the surface area from 162.7 to 21.6 m 2 /g upon calcination at 800°C for 4 h in air. The resultant oxide was generally composed of a poor MgO phase and a spinel phase, with more spinel phase at higher Co incorporation. The derived oxides were tested as the storage/reduction catalysts for NO x adsorption/desorption. The storage capacity for NO x was highly dependent on the catalyst composition and storage temperature. In general, more NO x was stored at lower temperature (100°C) than that at higher temperature (300°C), and tertiary catalysts (x ) 0.5-2.5) stored more NO x than binary catalyst (x ) 0.0 or 3.0). The catalytic conversion of NO to NO 2 and the catalytic decomposition of NO x were observed on the tertiary catalysts during NO x adsorption at 300°C, which was highly related to the loading of cobalt. The reducibility of catalysts was determined by TPR experiments, and the reduction of cobalt cations started at 150-200°C in H 2 . In situ IR spectra of catalysts adsorbing NO x revealed that the major NO x species formed on the catalysts were various kinds of nitrites and nitrates, together with some forms of dimers, such as N 2 O 2 2-and N 2 O 4 (or NO + NO 3 -). The storage/reduction mechanism and the function of Co in the mixed oxides are proposed and discussed on the basis of these observations.
IntroductionVarious nitrogen oxides (NO x ), generally produced in the combustion of fossil fuels, are the major pollutants in air that cause some environmental problems, such as photochemical smog and acid rain, as well as some human diseases, such as asthma. 1 Thus, there is a growing need to reduce emissions of NO x from automobile combustion, mainly via catalytic decomposition to environmentally friendly N 2 and O 2 . In fact, Pt-Rhbased three-way catalysts (TWCs) can effectively convert NO x to N 2 under conditions of a stoichiometric air-to-fuel ratio. 1,2 However, the general requirement of more fuel-efficient gasoline engines due to limited fossil fuel resources on the earth drives car manufacturers to develop lean-burn engines that combust fuel more efficiently under excess oxygen. 3 The presence of excess oxygen in the exhaust severely reduces the activity of three-way catalysts for NO x decomposition. 4 Therefore, catalysts that can effectively reduce the NO x amount in the presence of excess oxygen have now been widely sought, among which NO x storage/reduction (NSR) catalytic treatment seems a more promising approach to NO x removal in excess oxygen. 5,6 NO x storage/reduction technology is used in engines that alternately operate under lean-burn and rich-burn conditions. 7,8 Under lean-burn conditions, NO is oxidized and is stored on the catalyst...