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.

Graphical abstractFigure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide