Electrochemical reduction of nitrous oxide by the protons transported through polyelectrolyte-coated porous glass

An electrochemical method for the reduction of nitrous oxide has been developed, in which N2O is completely reduced to N2 on a metal cathode by protons generated on the anode and transported through a polyelectrolyte-coated porous glass. The cathode was a metal wire wound around a porous glass tube, and the metals used were zinc, lead, iron, and copper. The anode was made from grains of glassy carbon packed in the tube. The reduction was affected by kinetic factors, including the adsorption rate of N2O onto the cathode, the transport rate of protons through the polyelectrolyte-coated porous glass and the hydrogen overpotential of the cathode metal. Of the metals used, it was found that the most efficient for the N2O reduction was zinc.