Facile Route Fabrication of Steam Exploded Poplar Loaded with Non-metal Doped Ni-Fe Nanoparticles: Catalytic Activities in 4-nitrophenol Reduction and Electrocatalytic Reaction

Abstract A simple and effective method for the preparation of non-metallic ion-doped nickel-supported catalyst is reported. Using economical and recyclable fiber raw materials as carriers, nickel-supported catalysts are prepared by adsorption and reduction at room temperature. The nanoparticles dispersedly anchored on a rational support can efficiently inhibit the aggregation and thus enhance the catalytic activity. For the model catalytic hydrogenation of 4-NP by NaBH4, the N-B-Ni2P/SEP and N-B-NiFeP/SEP catalysts exhibited much better catalytic performances than other catalysts recently reported in terms of the catalytic activity (reaction completed within 5 min), reaction rate constant (1.617 and 0.765 min− 1) and the activity factor K (539 and 255 min− 1·g− 1), respectively. The catalyst showed activities for electrocatalytic HER and OER under ambient conditions. In general, the reported preparation method of nickel-supported catalyst is convenient, economical and environmentally friendly, which is in line with many green chemistry and sustainable development principles and widely available starting materials.