A sequence of elementary steps for the formation of N2O, NO2, N-2, and O-2 during NO decomposition on Cu-ZSM5 was inferred from steady-state and transient rate data combined with previous spectroscopic evidence for adsorbed species and Cu structures. Transient product evolution rates confirmed the redox nature of this sequence and the role of Cu dimers with labile oxygen atoms. N2O formed near ambient temperature as the initial decomposition product after quasiequilibrated adsorption of NO on reduced Cu+ dimers. The low activation energy for this step, the significant heat of adsorption of NO on Cu+ dimers, and the transition in prevalent Cu structures from {Cu2+-O-2(-)-Cu2+}(2+) to {Cu+-square-Cu+}(2+) lead to the observed decrease in NO decomposition rates above 750 K. Quasiequilibrium between O-2 and {Cu2+-O-2(-)-Cu2+}(2+) is mediated by a set of steps involving NO2 formation and decomposition, which lead to equilibrium NO2 concentrations during NO decomposition at 650-850 K on Cu-ZSM5. These pathways are faster than recombinative desorption steps requiring vicinal Cu2+ dimers with labile oxygen atoms to form O-2, In these steps, NO acts as a regenerable oxygen carrier that allows kinetic communication among remote adsorbed oxygen atoms via diffusion in the gas phase. Rate equations for the decomposition of NO and for product formation and the temperature dependence of their rate parameters are consistent with the kinetic data reported and with the effects of temperature on the relative abundance of adsorbed species and of Cu structures. These elementary steps suggest that redox steps restricted to Cu2+ and Cu+ cycles, the presence of vicinal Cu atoms to accommodate two adsorbed NO molecules and a two-electron reduction without the formation and agglomeration of Cu metal, and the balanced equilibrium between {Cu2+-O2--Cu2+}(2+) and {Cu+-square-Cu+}(2+) species account for the high NO decomposition rates achieved on Cu-ZSM5 catalysts.