Porous Co2P nanowires as high efficient bifunctional catalysts for 4-nitrophenol reduction and sodium borohydride hydrolysis

The development of highly efficient and non-noble catalysts for both the reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) and NaBH4 hydrolysis is extraordinary attractive but it remains a tremendous challenge. In this work, self-assembled porous Co2P nanowires (NWs) have been successfully prepared via the low-temperature hydrothermal method and the comprehensive experiments validate that the sample is a high efficient bifunctional catalyst for both the reduction of 4-nitrophenol and sodium borohydride hydrolysis. Specifically, the as-prepared porous Co2P NWs exhibit more excellent catalytic performance (k(nor) = 743 - s(-1), g(-1)) than that of other reported catalysts towards reduction of 4-nitrophenol. The catalytic activity of sodium borohydride hydrolysis is also investigated and the Co2P NWs show superior hydrogen generation rate (4028 mL min(-1) g(-1)) at 30 degrees C for sodium borohydride hydrolysis. Our results indicate that porous Co2P nanowires possess a potential application on both the sodium borohydride hydrolysis and reduction of 4-nitrophenol. (C) 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.