Facile coating of Co3O4 on open-cell metallic foam for N2O catalytic decomposition

Co3O4 coated on open-cell metallic foams, which can merge the catalytic activity of Co3O4 and advantages derived from the geometry of the support, are promising for environmental applications such as the decomposition of N2O (deN2O). This study demonstrates how it is possible to easily and reproducibly prepare a well-adhered layer of Co3O4 with a similar specific surface area as the materials prepared with the precipitation method (∼ 23 m2 g−1 coating) and controlled thickness on FeCrAlloy open-cell foams of different porosity and dimension by the electrosynthesis of Co(OH)2 followed by thermal treatment (600 °C). The obtained structured catalysts show stable performance after three cycles of catalytic decomposition of N2O between 250 and 550 °C, with a similar T50 of approximately 460 °C, which is comparable to the combustion or precipitated catalysts but provides a lower pressure drop. Under the operating conditions with a sequential test, the presence of NO and/or O2 in the feed gas inhibits partially the catalytic activity of the structured catalysts while the presence of H2O shows a slight enhancement in the N2O conversion at a temperature above 450 °C