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Self-assembly of Mesoporous Ni–P Nanosphere Catalyst with Uniform Size and Enhanced Catalytic Activity in Nitrobenzene Hydrogenation

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Abstract

Mesoporous Ni–P amorphous alloy nanospheres with controllable sizes and compositions were synthesized by chemical reduction of Ni(OH)2 colloidal particles co-assembling with surfactant hexadecyl-trimethyl-ammonium bromide in liquid crystal mesophase using hypophosphite as reductant. The effects of the synthesis conditions on the particle size, composition and mesostructure of the mesoporous Ni–P nanospheres were systematically studied. It was found that the size of the mesoporous Ni–P nanospheres could be tuned from 35 to 90 nm by changing the reduction temperature, and the phosphorus content of the Ni–P products could be adjusted in the range of 20.1 to 27.6 % by changing the molar ratio of H2PO2 −/Ni2+. The active surface area and the thermal stability of the mesoporous Ni–P nanosphere catalyst are much higher than those for the conventional nonporous Ni–P amorphous alloy. In the liquid phase hydrogenation of nitrobenzene, the typical mesoporous Ni–P nanosphere catalyst exhibits much higher activity and better selectivity than the conventional nonporous Ni–P. The correlation between the catalytic performance and the structural properties is discussed based on the results of detailed characterization.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (20803009) and the Shanghai Science and Technology Committee (12ZR1401400).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry and Shanghai Key Laboratory of Molecular Catalysis and Innovative Materials, Institute of Catalysis, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200433, People’s Republic of China

    Yu Wang, Xueying Chen, Bin Yue & Heyong He

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  1. Yu Wang
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  2. Xueying Chen
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  3. Bin Yue
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  4. Heyong He
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Correspondence to Xueying Chen or Heyong He.

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Wang, Y., Chen, X., Yue, B. et al. Self-assembly of Mesoporous Ni–P Nanosphere Catalyst with Uniform Size and Enhanced Catalytic Activity in Nitrobenzene Hydrogenation. Top Catal 55, 1022–1031 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11244-012-9884-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11244-012-9884-1

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