Porous MnO2/CNT catalysts with a large specific surface area for the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide

H 2 O 2 vapor sterilization is an effective and safe method for removing various pathogens. To improve the efficiency of this technique, the time required for sterilization must be shortened. The aeration time constitutes a large portion of the total sterilization time; therefore, the development of a catalyst for H 2 O 2 decomposition is necessary. Bulk MnO 2 is typically used in H 2 O 2 decomposition, but it has a low specific surface area. To increase H 2 O 2 decomposition activity, specific surface area and electron transfer ability of catalyst need improvement. In this study, MnO 2 /CNT(x), where x denotes the weight ratio of CTAB to H 2 O in the catalyst preparation, was synthesized using a soft template method with varying amounts of the template. Overall, the catalyst specific surface area remarkably increased to 190–200 m 2 /g from 0.043 m 2 /g for bulk MnO 2 and these increased surface areas resulted in superior H 2 O 2 decomposition activity. Among the CNT-supported catalysts tested, MnO 2 /CNT (1.0) exhibited the highest activity, which was 570 times that of bulk MnO 2 . Aeration times were also calculated with some assumptions and the aeration can be finished within 1 hr (bulk MnO 2 needs about 25 hr).