Seed-mediated solid-phase synthesis of carbon-confined Ni3Ga1 intermetallic nanocubes for highly selective hydrogenation
image: In this study, a novel facile and versatile solid phase seed-mediated confined strategy is reported for the synthesis of atomically ordered non-precious Ni3Ga1 intermetallic nanocubes encapsulated in N-doped carbon layer. The resulting confined nanocubes demonstrate exceptional activity and exclusive selectivity in the 1,4-hydrogenation of α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds while maintaining high stability over multiple reaction cycles without performance degradation.
Credit: Nano research, Tsinghua University Press
Atomically ordered precious intermetallic nanoparticles have garnered significant attention for diverse applications due to their well-defined surface atomic arrangements and exceptional electronic and geometric properties. However, synthesizing non-precious ordered intermetallics that exhibit high stability under operating conditions remains a formidable challenge, primarily owing to their strong oxyphilicity, highly negative reduction potentials, and low corrosion resistance.
A team led by Yong Yang from the Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, recently report a facile yet versatile seed-mediated solid-phase approach for fabricating uniform Ni3Ga1 intermetallic nanocubes (NCs) fully encapsulated within N-doped carbon layers (denoted as Ni3Ga1@NC-800).
The team published their research article in Nano Research on December 29, 2025.
Extensive characterization confirms the formation of a unique core-shell architecture, with atomic-resolution structural analysis and X-ray absorption fine structure measurements unequivocally verifying the atomically ordered Ni3Ga1 intermetallic phase. The Ni3Ga1@NC-800 catalyst demonstrates exceptional performance in the 1,4-hydrogenation of α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds, exhibiting both remarkable activity and exclusive selectivity while maintaining high stability over multiple reaction cycles without observable performance decay. Combined experimental and theoretical calculations reveal that the strong interatomic p-d orbital hybridization facilitates electron transfer from Ga to Ni atoms, resulting in electron localization on ordered Ni atoms. This electronic configuration positively influences H2 activation and optimizes substrate adsorption strength, thereby substantially improving catalytic efficiency.
Furthermore, this synthetic strategy proves generalizable, successfully extending to the synthesis of other non-precious ordered Ni1Sn1 and Ni2In3 intermetallics confined within N-doped carbon matrices.
Other contributors include Yifan Liu, Xiaoxue Wang, Guangying Fu from the Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Shiqiang Liu from the Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Shingo Hasegawa, Ken Motokura from Yokohama National University in Japan.
This work was financially supported by the program of the National Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province (No. ZR2023ZD23), the Shandong Province Key Research and Development Plan (2023CXGC010607).
About Nano Research
Nano Research is a peer-reviewed, open access, international and interdisciplinary research journal, sponsored by Tsinghua University and the Chinese Chemical Society, published by Tsinghua University Press on the platform SciOpen. It publishes original high-quality research and significant review articles on all aspects of nanoscience and nanotechnology, ranging from basic aspects of the science of nanoscale materials to practical applications of such materials. After 18 years of development, it has become one of the most influential academic journals in the nano field. Nano Research has published more than 1,000 papers every year from 2022, with its cumulative count surpassing 7,000 articles. In 2024 InCites Journal Citation Reports, its 2024 IF is 9.0 (8.7, 5 years), and it continues to be the Q1 area among the four subject classifications. Nano Research Award, established by Nano Research together with TUP and Springer Nature in 2013, and Nano Research Young Innovators (NR45) Awards, established by Nano Research in 2018, have become international academic awards with global influence.