Apparent activation energies and reaction rates of N2O decomposition via different routes over Co3O4

Abstract Apparent activation energies and reaction rates of N 2 O decomposition via L-H and E-R routes over Co 3 O 4 were experimentally estimated after considering the increase of active sites with reaction temperature. It was found that the apparent activation energy is 32.9 kJ/mol for the L-H route and 44.8 kJ/mol for the E-R route, while the order of reaction with respect to O 2 is − 0.367 at 350 °C and − 0.338 at 450 °C. The contribution of the E-R route to the total reaction rate was found to be considerably increased with the reaction temperature and which was well interpreted by the apparent activation energies of the two reaction routes.