Development of 3-dimensional CoO catalysts with various morphologies for activation of Oxone to degrade 5-sulfosalicylic acid in water.

Since 5-sulfosalicylic acid (SFA) has been increasingly released to the environment, SO-based oxidation processes using Oxone have been considered as useful methods to eliminate SFA. As CoO has been a promising material for OX activation, the four 3D CoO catalysts with distinct morphologies, including CoO-C (with cubes), CoO-P (with plates), CoO-N (with needles) and CoO-F (with floral structures), are fabricated for activating OX to degrade SFA. In particular, CoO-F not only exhibits the highest surface area but also possesses the abundant Co and more reactive surface, making CoO-F the most advantageous 3D CoO catalyst for OX activation to degrade SFA. The mechanism of SFA by this 3D CoO/OX is also investigated and the corresponding SFA degradation pathway has been elucidated. The catalytic activities of CoO catalysts can be correlated to physical and chemical properties which were associated with particular morphologies to provide insights into design of 3D CoO-based catalysts for OX-based technology to degrade emerging contaminants, such as SFA.