Nickel foam supported non-noble Co3O4 as monolithic membrane catalyst for the reduction of p-nitrophenol

Abstract

Catalytic reduction of p-nitrophenol (PNP) into p-aminophenol (PAP) is regarded as an effective detoxification approach. However, high cost and difficulty in recycling of the powdery noble metal catalyst limit the practicality of this method to a great extent. Hence, the development of non-noble metal catalysts with easy recovery nature is very desirable. In this study, we prepared a Co3O4@nickel foam (NF) monolithic membrane catalyst by coating Co3O4 onto nickel foam via a hydrothermal-calcination method. Moreover, its catalytic performance towards PNP reduction was assessed in the presence of NaBH4. The results showed that a PNP reduction conversion of 87.61 % could be achieved within 25 min under the reaction conditions: two pieces of 3 × 3 cm2 Co3O4@NF, NaBH4 dosage of 0.02 mol L−1, PNP concentration of 0.108 mmol L−1, a total reaction volume of 500 mL and reaction temperature of 25 °C. Additionally, Co3O4@NF monolithic membrane exhibited stable catalytic performance. After 10 consecutive catalytic cycles, a PNP reduction conversion of more than 85 % could be maintained. Therefore, it is expected that such kind of NF supported non-noble Co3O4 monolithic membrane catalyst has promising applications in nitrophenol wastewater treatment.