Enhancement of the catalytic performance of Co3O4 towards butyl acetate oxidation by weakening the Co–O bond and promoting oxygen activation

Abstract

With the widespread use of waterborne coatings, the treatment of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which can easily produce odor pollution, has become a major concern for air pollution control in the coating industry. Since the deep oxidation of the butyl acetate (BA) molecule requires the involvement of a large amount of reactive oxygen species, the catalytic oxidation of BA was promoted by weakening the Co–O bond strength on the cobalt oxide surface. In this study, we adopted a simple sacrificial template approach to fabricate a series of specifically shaped and uniform Co₃O₄ catalysts for the catalytic oxidation of BA. The flaky CM71-C catalyst showed the best catalytic properties for BA oxidation (T₅₀ = 197 °C, T₉₀ = 215 °C). According to the characterization results, flaky CM71-C has the largest specific surface area and the weakest Co–O bond, which is more conducive to redox and oxygen activation capabilities of the catalyst. The results of in situ DRIFTS studies showed that the surface reactive oxygen species were continuously recharged during the reaction due to the higher oxygen activation capacity, which accelerated the rapid decomposition of carboxylate, a key reactive intermediate species in the deep oxidation of BA. This study provides a practical and effective way to gain insight into the role of oxygen vacancies in the preparation of efficient catalysts with a specific morphology for the oxidation of VOCs.