Phase-control synthesis and catalytic property of nickel phosphide nanospheres

In this article, a mild hydrothermal route was developed to synthesize nickel phosphide nanostructures, using nickel chloride, sodium hypophosphite, and white phosphorus (WP) as reactants at 170 °C. The results indicated that the controllable phase of the prepared nickel phosphide nanostructures was highly dependent on the amount of sodium hypophosphite, WP, and reaction time. We also discovered that different phase nickel phosphide nanostructures have excellent catalytic properties for the reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) to 4-aminophenol (4-AP) in NaBH4. Simultaneously, similar aromatic nitro compounds 2-nitrophenol (2-NP) and 4-nitroaniline (4-NA) were further discussed. The experimental results demonstrated that the pure Ni2P phase has a better catalytic reduction of 4-NP than the pure Ni12P5 phase.