Abstract <p>A series of catalysts of Co/Al₂O₃, Cu/Co/Al₂O₃, and Ce–Cu/Co/Al₂O₃ have been prepared by impregnation method in this study. The experimental results showed that the activity of Cu/Co/Al₂O₃ on N₂O decomposition was increased significantly with the increase of Cu/Co mass ratio. The activity of catalytic N₂O decomposition was optimal when the Cu/Co mass ratio was 0.6 under experimental conditions used. On this basis, a series of catalysts of Ce–Cu/Co/Al₂O₃ were prepared. H₂-TPR results indicated that the temperature of low and high-temperature reduction peaks of Ce–Cu/Co/Al₂O₃ was relatively decreased by about 20 and 80°C compared with the sample of Cu/Co/Al₂O₃, respectively. The experimental results showed that the activity of Ce–Cu/Co/Al₂O₃ on N₂O decomposition was increased with increasing the mass ratio of Ce/Cu, while the catalytic activity on decomposition of N₂O was best when the mass ratio of Ce/Cu was reached to 1.2. Furthermore, the catalyst of Ru/Ce–Cu/Co/Al₂O₃ was prepared by programmed-impregnation method. XRD characterization results over Ce–Cu/Co/Al₂O₃ and Ru/Ce–Cu/Co/Al₂O₃ samples showed that the structure of the two catalysts was basically similar before and after Ru doped. The experimental data showed that the Ru/Ce–Cu/Co/Al₂O₃ catalyst had better N₂O decomposition performance. Stability test showed that it had good low-temperature activity and stability, which provided the basis for further related research.</p>