The invention discloses a self-supporting
nickel phosphide catalyst and a preparation method and application thereof. The self-supporting
nickel phosphide catalyst is a
nickel phosphide catalyst obtained by in-situ growing of a nickel
oxalate or nickel
hydroxide crystal layer on a framework matrix through a hydrothermal method and performing phosphating while secondary forming is not needed, and the nickel phosphide catalyst is composed of the framework matrix and a nickel-
phosphorus compound, wherein the nickel-
phosphorus compound is at least one of Ni3P, Ni12P5, Ni2P and Ni5P4, total
mass ratio of the nickel-
phosphorus compound is 0.1-50%, and the balance is the framework matrix. Experiments show that the self-supporting nickel phosphide catalyst is high in stability and
thermal conductivity, easy to form and fill, high in flux and low in pressure drop, especially has the advantages of high low-temperature activity, high
dimethyl oxalate conversion rate and high methyl glycolate selectivity and can be used as a reaction catalyst for hydrogenating
dimethyl oxalate to prepare methyl glycolate.