Highly stable and sub-3 nm Ni nanoparticles coated with carbon nanosheets as a highly active heterogeneous hydrogenation catalyst

• Highly stable and sub-3 nm Ni NPs were obtained directly.
• Ni NPs were stabilized by the coated carbon nanosheets.
• Ni/C nanosheets showed excellent catalytic activity.
• A new non-noble Ni-based heterogeneous hydrogenation catalyst was produced.

An efficient catalyst of Ni/C hybrid nanosheets was prepared via a facile and simple procedure. The highly dispersed and sub-3 nm Ni nanoparticles (NPs) were coated with the carbon nanosheets which can prevent the aggregation and growth of the Ni NPs. The Ni/C hybrid nanosheets exhibited high activity for the catalytic reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP), which was much higher than many noble metal NPs. Additionally, the magnetic Ni/C hybrid nanosheets showed good separation ability and reusability.

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