Investigations on the local structure of Ag+/ZSM-5 catalysts and their photocatalytic reactivities for the decomposition of N2O at 298 K.

Ag+/ZSM-5 catalysts were prepared by an ion-exchange method and UV-irradiation of the catalysts in the presence of N2O led to the photocatalytic decomposition of N2O into N2 and O2 at 298 K. Investigations on the effective wavelength of irradiated UV-light for the reaction as well as the in-situ characterization of the catalysts by means of XAFS, UV-Vis, photoluminescence and FT-IR spectroscopies revealed that the photoexcitation of the Ag+-N2O complexes formed between gaseous N2O and the isolated Ag+ ions play a significant role in this reaction.