Microwave one-pot synthesis of CNT-supported amorphous Ni–P alloy nanoparticles with enhanced hydrogenation performance

Supported amorphous alloy catalysts have received wide attention due to their unique structural and electronic properties, high catalytic activity, and thermal stability. In this work, a carbon nanotube (CNT)-supported amorphous Ni–P alloy nanoparticles (NPs) catalyst, referred to as Ni–P/CNTs-MA, is synthesized using a simple one-pot microwave-assisted approach. The prepared Ni–P/CNTs-MA catalyst displays smaller Ni–P NPs, higher metal dispersion and stronger metal–support interactions than the reference catalyst prepared by the traditional water bath heating method (Ni–P/CNTs-WB). The resulting Ni–P/CNTs-MA catalyst exhibits enhanced catalytic activity for the hydrogenation of nitroarenes compared to the Ni–P/CNTs-WB catalyst. The Ni–P/CNTs-MA catalyst also exhibits improved thermal stability and catalytic durability, probably due to the strong interaction between the Ni–P NPs and CNTs.