The catalytic reaction of NO with meso-carbon microbeads (MCMB) of ultrahigh surface area (3187 m(2)/g) in the presence of 20 wt% supported Cu was investigated, High conversions of NO were obtained at 330 degrees C, higher by a factor of about six than those over Cu/activated carbon for the same amount of catalyst, The NO conversion decreased because of sintering with increasing decomposition temperature of MCMB impregnated with CU(NO3)(2). A mechanism for the NO + C reaction was suggested by calculating the activation energy barriers of the possible elementary steps using the bond-order conservation method. One concludes that the NO dissociation aided by C and the disproportionation of NO are the preferred pathways of the reaction.