CATALYSIS OF NO DECOMPOSITION BY MN3O4

A flow reactor and chemiluminescent NOx analyzer were used to measure the rate of decomposition of NO catalyzed by Mn3O4 in purified air at atmospheric pressure. The decomposition is first order in NO with Arrhenius parameters of Eapp = 12.4 ± 0.2 kcal mol-1 and In A(s) = 9.29 ± 0.24. Because Mn3O4 is the primary Mn-containing combustion product of the fuel additive methylcyclopentadienylman-ganese tricarbonyl (MMT), the catalytic properties of Mn3O4 should be considered in evaluating the potential air quality problem posed by MMT. © 1979, American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.