Preparation of hierarchical Ni@CuS composites and the application of the enhanced catalysis for 4-nitrophenol reduction

Three types of hierarchical, flower-like CuS particles were prepared by a hydrothermal method and samples were formulated as thin nanosheets. The aggregation density of the sheets could be readily controlled with the aid of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) or 1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylic acid (BTC) organic molecules. The three substrates were then used for the growth of nickel nanocatalysts and the structures of the composites characterized by environment scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Ultraviolet-visible absorption spectrometry was applied to study the catalytic reduction of 4-nitrophenol. Results show that a sample of Ni nanoparticles (Ni NPs, ~5 nm in diameter) grown on CuS micro-flowers, composed of the sparsest nanosheets (Ni@SUB2) with an ultralow loading of 0.469% (w), showed the best catalytic properties amongst the three Ni@SUB composites. During reduction of 4-nitrophenol with initial 4-nitrophenol concentrations of 0.2 mmol·L^-1, the Ni@SUB2 showed almost 100% transformation within 4 min, while the same quantity of pure Ni NPs showed a transformation of only ~43%. The enhanced catalytic properties for 4-nitrophenol degradation could be ascribed to well-dispersed Ni NPs supported on the CuS substrate providing greater numbers of catalytic active sites. Furthermore, because of CuS is insoluble, it can be easily collected by centrifugation, which can be environmentally beneficial.