An extensive study was conducted to explore the catalytic reduction of NO by CO on Rh 4 + clusters at the ground and first excited states at the B3LYP/6-311+GIJ2d), SDD level. The main reaction pathway includes the following elementary steps: (1) the coadsorption of NO and CO; (2) the recombination of NO and CO molecules to form CO 2 molecules and N atoms, or the decomposition of NO to N and O atoms; (3) the reaction of the N atom with the second adsorbed NO to form N 2 O; (4) the decomposition of N 2 O to N 2 molecules and O atoms; and (5) the recombination of O atoms and CO to form CO 2 . At low temperatures (300-760 K), the turnover frequency (TOF)-determining transition state (TDTS) is the simultaneous C-O bond formation and N-O bond cleavage, with a rate constant (s −1 ) of k Ps = 4.913 × 10 12 exp(−272 724/RT).The formation of CO 2 should originate in half from the reaction between the adsorbed CO and NO. The presence of CO in some degree decreases the catalytic reduction temperature of NO on the Rh 4 + clusters.At high temperatures (760-900 K), the TDTS is applied to the N-O bond cleavage, with a rate constant (s −1 ) of k Pa = 6.721 × 10 15 expIJ−318 376/RT). The formation of CO 2 should stem solely from the surface reaction between the adsorbed CO and the O atom, the latter originating from NO decomposition. The bridge N b Rh 4 + is thermodynamically preferred. Once the bridge N b Rh 4 + is formed, N 2 O-and NCO-contained species are predicted to exist, which is in good agreement with the experimental results.Catal. Sci. Technol. This journal is † Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Thermal correction to Gibbs free energy (G 0 , hartree), sum of electronic and thermal free energies (G c , hartree), and relative energies (G r , kJ mol −1 ) of various species with respect to the ground reactants calculated at the B3LYP/6-311+GIJ2d), SDD level in the gas phase under atmospheric pressure of 1 atm and room temperature of 300 K. The standard orientations of various species calculated at the B3LYP/6-311+GIJ2d), SDD level in the catalytic reduction of NO by CO on the Rh 4 + cluster.