Interfacial peroxidase-like catalytic activity of surface-immobilized cobalt phthalocyanine on multiwall carbon nanotubes

The rapid diffusional mass transfer process (DMTP) always results in a highly efficient reaction. Herein, cobalt phthalocyanine (CoPc) was covalently anchored on to multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) by an easy and moderate one-step deamination method to obtain the catalyst MWCNT-immobilized CoPc (CoPc-MWCNT). The interfacial peroxidase-like catalytic activity of CoPc-MWCNTs is described for controllable H2O2 activation. According to the experimental results and density functional theory calculations, we can be confident that high-valent cobalt-oxo intermediates are formed during the H2O2 activation. Such active species are anchored and exposed on the surface of MWCNTs, shortening the DMTP and enhancing the resistance of CoPc-MWCNTs to oxidative decay. The introduction of linear alkylbenzene sulphonates (LAS) facilitates the catalytic H2O2 activation by CoPc-MWCNTs, and at the same time, CoPc-MWCNTs could maintain a high and sustained catalytic activity because of the specific hydrophobic interactions between the long-chain alkyl group of LAS and the π-conjugated surface of the MWCNTs.