Preparation of ultrafine nickel powder and its catalytic dehydrogenation activity

Nanocrystalline nickel powders were prepared from aqueous solution by reduc ing their corresponding metal salts under suitable conditions. The experime ntal conditions including the types and concentration of Protective agents, feeding order and the PH of the solution that influence, the average parti cle size were studied in detail. X-ray powder diffraction patterns show tha t the nickel powder is cubic crystallite. The average particle size of the ultrafine nickel powder is 50 nm. In addition, we also studied the effect o f particle size in liquid phase dehydrogenation of 2-butanol. The results s how that the smaller particle size is favored of increasing catalytic activ ity. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.