Engineering tremella-flake-like Co3O4 nanostructures via a facile route for enhanced photocatalysis: rapid dye degradation

Abstract

The rational design of nanostructures with controlled morphology is a crucial strategy for enhancing photocatalytic performance. A unique tremella-flake-like Co3O4-P nanostructure with a high specific surface area of 210.8 m2·g⁻1 was successfully synthesized via a facile calcination method. Materials demonstrated exceptional activity in peroxymonosulfate (PMS)-activated degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) under visible light, achieving 99.6% removal within 1 min with a first-order rate constant of 5.4440 min−1 and a normalized rate constant of 0.0258 g·min−1·m−2. In contrast, commercial Co3O4-M showed only 1.4% degradation under identical conditions with corresponding constants of 0.0406 min−1 and 0.0035 g·min−1·m−2. Enhanced activity of Co3O4-P originates not only from its high surface area but also from its distinctive microporous tremella-flake-like architecture which promotes charge carrier separation, prolongs their lifetime, and offers abundant active sites for PMS activation. This work provides valuable insights for designing high performance catalysts through morphology engineering for environmental remediation.