Catalytic Degradation of Phenol by Co3O4 Nanocubes

The Co3O4 nanocubes have been synthesized by a hydrothermal route. The products are characterized in detail by multiform techniques: X-ray diffraction(XRD), energy-dispersive X-ray analysis(EDS), scanning electron microscopy(SEM), and transmission electron microscopy(TEM). The results show that the obtained products are Co3O4 nanocubes with size ranging between 20 and 50 nm. The catalytic activity towards the degradation of phenol over Co3O4 nanocubes was further studied under continuous bubbling of air through the liquid phase. The results showed that sample has the highest catlytic activity. The degradation of phenol catalyzed by the Co3O4 nanocubes fits the first-order kinetics. According to the estimated reaction rate of Co3O4 nanocubes at different temperature, the activation energy of 28.41 kJ/mol were calculated.