Decoration of exfoliated black phosphorus with nickel nanoparticles and application in catalysis

TL;DR

This study develops a nickel nanoparticle-decorated black phosphorus nanohybrid that demonstrates enhanced stability and high catalytic efficiency in phenylacetylene semihydrogenation, with maintained performance after recycling.

Contribution

It introduces a novel Ni/2DBP nanohybrid with improved ambient stability and catalytic performance for semihydrogenation reactions.

Findings

Ni/2DBP shows high stability in ambient conditions.

Ni/2DBP achieves high conversion and selectivity in phenylacetylene semihydrogenation.

Catalytic performance remains stable after recycling tests.

Abstract

Nickel nanoparticles were dispersed on the surface of exfoliated black phosphorus and the resulting nanohybrid Ni/2DBP showed an improved stability respect to pristine 2D BP when kept in ambient conditions in the darkness. Ni/2DBP was applied as catalyst in the semihydrogenation of phenylacetylene and exhibited high conversion and selectivity towards styrene. These features were preserved after recycling tests revealing the high stability of the nanohybrid.