Raney Ni catalysts derived from different alloy precursors (I) morphology and characterization

Ni-Al alloys containing 41.3, 49.2 and 59.9 wt% Ni were leached by reaction with 20 wt% aqueous NaOH solution under different temperature and time. The reactivities of alloys and morphologies of resultant catalysts were investigated. A large difference in reactivities of alloys toward alkali solution was revealed according to the composition of the alloy. As Al content in precursor alloy increased, the reactivity of alloy toward alkali solution increased. It was shown that, during leaching, reaction in Ni 41.3 wt% alloy is restricted to reaction interface, whereas that in Ni 49.9 wt% alloy occurs throughout the product layer. Surface area and pore size distribution were seen to be strongly dependent upon leaching conditions and relatively independent of the composition of precursor alloy. This paper was prepared at the 2004 Korea/Japan/Taiwan Chemical Engineering Conference held at Busan, Korea between November 3 and 4, 2004.