Enzymes have always been a source of inspiration for the design and improvement of catalysts. Many examples are occurring in heme/non-heme metalloenzymes with the generation of active high-valent metal-oxo intermediates that are controlled by the surrounding amino acids/protein and axial residue ligands, facilitating the efficient oxidation of substrates in biochemical processes. Here, the high-valent cobalt-oxo species have been formed during the heterolysis of H2O2 activated by the bioinspired catalyst, axially coordinated cobalt phthalocyanine (CoPc) on pyridine-functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs-Py), characterized by ultraviolet-visible and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Formation process of the active cobalt-oxo species has been further confirmed by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry analysis and the results from the density functional theory (B3LYP/6-311G) calculations. Such high-valent cobalt-oxo species exhibit high reactivity and enough persistence for the oxidation of the target substrate, C.I. Acid Red 1. The oxidation products are nearly biodegradable small molecules identified by ultra-performance liquid chromatography/high-definition mass spectrometry. This strategy provides a foundation on developing efficient and persistent catalytic system, in particular oxidation processes based on the complex catalysts with N-4 macrocycle structures. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.