Design and development of hydrogel based metal nanocomposites is of vital significance in the field of industrial waste management. In this study, the synthesis of poly (N-isopropylacrylamide-co-2-Acrylamido-2-methylpropane sulfonic acid) hydrogel and embedment of cobalt nanoparticles in the prepared hydrogel was demonstrated followed by the evaluation of catalytic potential of the as-prepared cobalt nanoparticles-hydrogel nanocomposite. The prepared hydrogel and corresponding nanocomposite were characterized by Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy to identify functional groups, Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) and Inductively Coupled Plasma—Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES) analysis to confirm the presence of cobalt, and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) to assess the spatial morphology of cobalt nanoparticles. The prepared hydrogel showed absorption of water via non-Fickian mechanism, resulting in swelling as much as 69 times of its dry weight. The nanoparticles were found to be spherical in shape and having diameters around 25 nm. The potential catalytic properties of the cobalt nanoparticles-hydrogel nanocomposite were assessed while reducing 4-nitrophenol, 2-nitrophenol, 4-nitroaniline, and 2-nitroaniline to their corresponding amino compounds. The catalytic reactions were performed under varying temperatures and catalyst quantities, besides the catalyst was also subjected to rigorous repeated usage to evaluate its recycling potential. The thermodynamic parameters such as activation energy, activation entropy change, and activation enthalpy change were also calculated. The catalyst was found to be more effective in reducing 4-nitrophenol with a maximum rate constant of 4.67 min⁻¹. A gradual decline in catalytic reduction rate was observed when the same catalyst was repeatedly used for five consecutive cycles.

水凝胶基金属纳米复合材料的设计和开发在工业废物管理领域具有重要意义。在这项研究中，证明了聚（N-异丙基丙烯酰胺-co-2-Acrylamido-2-methylpropane 磺酸）水凝胶的合成和钴纳米颗粒在制备的水凝胶中的嵌入，然后评估了制备的钴的催化潜力纳米粒子-水凝胶纳米复合材料。制备的水凝胶和相应的纳米复合材料通过傅里叶变换红外 (FTIR) 光谱表征以识别官能团、能量色散 X 射线 (EDX) 和电感耦合等离子体-光学发射光谱 (ICP-OES) 分析以确认钴的存在，和透射电子显微镜 (TEM) 来评估钴纳米粒子的空间形态。制备的水凝胶通过非菲克机制表现出吸水，导致其溶胀高达其干重的 69 倍。发现纳米颗粒呈球形，直径约为 25 nm。在将 4-硝基苯酚、2-硝基苯酚、4-硝基苯胺和 2-硝基苯胺还原为其相应的氨基化合物的同时，评估了钴纳米颗粒-水凝胶纳米复合材料的潜在催化性能。催化反应在不同温度和催化剂用量下进行，除此之外还对催化剂进行严格的重复使用以评估其回收潜力。还计算了活化能、活化熵变和活化焓变等热力学参数。^-1。当连续五个循环重复使用相同的催化剂时，观察到催化还原率逐渐下降。