Ultrafine Ni-Co-W-B amorphous alloys and their activities in benzene hydrogenation to cyclohexane

Quaternary Ni-Co-W-B amorphous alloys were prepared by chemical reduction o f the aqueous solution of nickel and cobalt salts and sodium tungstate with potassium borohydride. The catalytic activities of the as-prepared materia ls were measured through liquid phase hydrogenation of benzene under modera te pressure. In comparison with Ni-Co-B, the as-prepared Ni-Co-W-B amorphou s alloys showed superior activity, attributable to the promoting effect of tungsten on the microstructure of the alloys as revealed by XPS, XRD and DS C measurements.