Nanosized Co3O4 catalyst was prepared through a dispersion-precipitation method involving a reaction between wet cobalt hydroxide and acetic acid, which forms a colloidal dispersion, and subsequent dilution, which destabilizes and precipitates the colloidal particles. The catalyst had a particle size of 5-15 nm and a specific surface area of 82 m(2)/g. Compared with the analogue prepared by conventional alkali-induced precipitation method, the nanosized catalyst was more reducible and contained a larger amount of active surface oxygen species, as revealed by experiments using temperature-programmed reduction in hydrogen and temperature-programmed desorption of oxygen. The oxygen species could contribute to the observed higher activity in the catalytic oxidation of carbon monoxide and propane. In addition, a kinetics study revealed that the apparent activation energies for carbon monoxide and propane oxidation over the catalyst were 34.0 and 49.5 kJ/mol, respectively, much lower than those over the analogue (54.7 and 71.1 kJ/mol, respectively). Furthermore, a long-term test (76 h) showed that the nanosized catalyst is highly stable. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.