One-pot pyrolytic synthesis of mesoporous MCo2O4(4.5) (M = Mn, Ni, Fe, Cu) spinels and its high efficient catalytic properties for CO oxidation at low temperature

•Mesoporous MCo2O4(4.5) has been successfully fabricated using a facial one-pot pyrolytic protocol.•Material MnCo2O4.5 calcined at 250 °C at a heating rate of 1 °C/min possessed high surface area.•It possesses excellent catalytic activity for CO oxidation at low temperature.

Meso-structured polycrystalline MCo2O4(4.5) (M = Mn, Ni, Fe, Cu) spinels have been successfully fabricated through one-pot pyrolytic method using homogeneous complex oxalates as precursors. In such a protocol, the pyrolysis products, nano-sized spinel crystallites, connected together to form mesoporous structure. Compared with that through nano-casting method, this strategy is much facial and efficient, and resulting material MnCo2O4.5 calcined at 250 °C possesses much higher specific area, excellent catalytic activity and stability for CO oxidation at ambient temperature. The full CO conversion can be achieved at as low as 30 °C.

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