AMORPHOUS NICKEL PHOSPHORUS ALLOY DEPOSITED ON A SUPPORT AND ITS HYDROGENATION ACTIVITY

The authors describe a new process, which they have developed recently, to deposit an amorphous alloy on a support with a large surface area by chemical plating. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis was used to verify the amorphous state of the alloy before and after the catalytic reaction. The surface area of the alloy was measured by a chromatographic method. The catalytic activities of amorphous nickel-phosphorus-silica, crystallized nickel-phosphorus-silica and polycrystalline nickel-silica catalysts are compared for the hydrogenation of styrene. The amorphous nickel-phosphorus on the support is in the form of alloy and not in the form of separate nickel and phosphorus because there was just one broad peak in the XRD pattern and the value of 2 theta was the same as that of amorphous nickel-phosphorus alloy prepared by electrolytic plating. Their results illustrate that an amorphous alloy can be carried on a silica support for the purpose of increasing the surface area and the support has the ability to stabilize the amorphous state.