Catalytic total oxidation is an effective procedure to minimize emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOC) emissions in industrial gases. Catalysts in the form of meshes are remarkable as they minimize the internal diffusion of reactants during the reaction as well as the need of expensive active components. In this paper, various conditions of radio frequency magnetron sputtering of cobalt on stainless-steel meshes was applied during catalyst preparation. Properties of the supported Co₃O₄ catalysts were characterized by SEM, XRD, temperature programmed reduction (H₂-TPR), FTIR, XPS, and Raman spectroscopy. Catalytic activity was examined in deep oxidation of ethanol chosen as a model VOC. Performance of the catalysts depended on the amount of Co₃O₄ deposited on the supporting meshes. According to specific activities (the amounts of ethanol converted per unit weight of Co₃O₄), smaller Co₃O₄ particle size led to increased catalytic activity. The catalyst prepared by sputtering in an Ar+O₂ atmosphere without calcination showed the highest catalytic activity, which decreased after calcination due to enlargement of Co₃O₄ particles. However, specific activity of this catalyst was more than 20 times higher than that of pelletized commercial Co₃O₄ catalyst used for comparison.