Jinan University CoO catalyst decomposes ozone for over 24 hours at 70% relative humidity
Chinese researchers made a laboratory CoO mesocrystal catalyst that resists water poisoning; the authors report it also worked at −5 °C and in a 3 m3 room.
Researchers from Jinan University (Guangzhou), Sun Yat-sen University (Shenzhen campus), the South China Institute of Environmental Sciences and Shanxi University have described a cobalt oxide catalyst for ozone decomposition that keeps working in humid air. The study was published in Nature Communications on 3 November 2026. According to the authors, the mesoCoO-P5 catalyst decomposes ozone stably for more than 24 hours at 70% relative humidity doi.org
Nature Communicationsdoi.orgOpen source ↗.
The authors describe catalytic decomposition as the most efficient and cost-effective method of mitigating O3 pollution. Its further development is held back by the unsatisfactory humidity resistance and poor long-term stability of current catalysts doi.org
Nature Communicationsdoi.orgOpen source ↗. The team addressed both problems by combining water transport confinement with electronegativity modulation in confined nanospaces of the catalyst.
Dual-confined structure
mesoCoO-P5 is a hydrophilic dual-space confined CoO mesocrystal with hierarchically organized 0D nanocavities and 2D interlayers doi.org
Nature Communicationsdoi.orgOpen source ↗. Densely networked hydrogen bonds on the hydrophilic confined surface restrict the mobility of water. According to the authors, this prevents catalyst poisoning caused by water accumulation
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Nature Communicationsdoi.orgOpen source ↗.
Electronegative hydroxyl groups on the catalyst play a second role: they promote the conversion of peroxide intermediates into O2 doi.org
Nature Communicationsdoi.orgOpen source ↗.
Test conditions
Beyond the run of more than 24 hours at 70% relative humidity, the catalyst maintained high activity at −5 °C and at an ultrahigh space velocity of 4000 L·g−1h−1 doi.org
Nature Communicationsdoi.orgOpen source ↗. The authors also demonstrated accelerated ozone decomposition in a 3 m3 indoor room and under conditions where dust was present
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Nature Communicationsdoi.orgOpen source ↗.
The authors conclude that confinement engineering is a new paradigm for enhancing anti-poisoning properties in the design of robust environmental catalysts doi.org
Nature Communicationsdoi.orgOpen source ↗.
Jialin Li and Zicong Jiang contributed equally to the work. Correspondence is listed for Jingling Yang, Yang Yun and Jing Zheng. The article's DOI is 10.1038/s41467-026-79279-x.
