Facet-Dependent Activity of Co3O4 Catalyst for C3H8 Combustion

Article abstract of DOI:10.1002/cctc.201901382

Clarifying the facet-dependent activity of Co₃O₄ towards C₃H₈ combustion is of great importance to have a deep understanding of reaction mechanism and develop highly active Co₃O₄ based catalysts for light hydrocarbon combustion. In this work, four different Co₃O₄ nanocatalysts which dominantly exposed {100}, {111}, {110} and {112} facets, respectively, were synthesized via hydrothermal method and further tested in C₃H₈ combustion. The catalytic activity of different crystal planes varied as the order of {111}>{100}>{110}>{112}. The Co₃O₄ catalyst with {111} facets exhibited the best catalytic performance with T₅₀ and T₉₀ as low as 209 and 239 °C, respectively. DRIFT and DFT calculations revealed that the facile activation of C?H bond on Co₃O₄ {111} planes is responsible for the high activity. Moreover, the higher activity of lattice oxygens and easy activation of gas phase oxygen could also contribute to the excellent catalytic performance.