A novel mild route to hausmannite Mn3O4 nanocubes at room temperature and its catalytic performance

Mn3O4 nanocubes were prepared by a modified autoxidation of the slurry, obtained by the reaction of manganese acetate and sodium tetraborate at room temperature. The Mn3O4 products were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectrum (FTIR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), etc. The results indicate that the as-synthesized products have good crystallization and Mn3O4 nanocubes with the dimensions of about 100nm. The catalytic test shows that Mn3O4 nanocubes exhibit good catalytic performance in the oxidation of carbon monoxide. Almost 100% oxidization of carbon monoxide to carbon dioxide for the second and third runs is nearly the same to that of the first one, revealing the excellent thermal stability and recycling performance of the Mn3O4 nanocubes as catalyst.