# Ion-Exchanged Beta-Based Cobalt Catalyst for Efficient Degradation of Aqueous Dye Acid Orange II

## TL;DR

A new cobalt-based catalyst efficiently degrades the dye Acid Orange II in water at room temperature with high efficiency.

## Contribution

A novel Co/Beta catalyst is developed via ion exchange, showing exceptional dye degradation performance.

## Key findings

- Cobalt ions successfully replaced sodium in the beta zeolite framework.
- The Co/Beta catalyst achieved over 99.5% dye removal efficiency in 10 minutes.
- Electronic coupling between cobalt and zeolite enhances catalyst stability and performance.

## Abstract

A highly active Co/Beta catalyst was prepared via ion-exchange method, in which sodium cations in the beta zeolite framework were replaced by cobalt ions using an aqueous cobalt nitrate solution. Based on XRD, SEM, TEM, XPS, and nitrogen adsorption–desorption analyses, it was confirmed that cobalt species successfully took the place of sodium ions in beta zeolite, while the cobalt species diffused with a uniform dispersion. Strong electronic coupling between cobalt species and zeolite framework oxygen stabilizes Co2+ sites in the material. The catalysts perform high efficiency in dye Acid Orange II (AO7) degradation reactions, which gives more than 99.5% removal efficiency at room temperature and initial pH within 10 min under low catalyst dosage. The advantages of the Co/Beta catalyst are reasonably attributed to its maximized metal−zeolite synergistic efficiency.