Abstract: A series of amorphous Ni-B alloy and supported Ni-B/MgO catalyst samples were prepared by silver-catalyzed electroless plating under different ultrasonic conditions. The effects of ultrasonic wave on the structure, composition, surface texture, and dispersion of Ni-B particles on MgO were characterized by inductively coupled plasma, X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscope, selected area electron diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy. The activity of the as-prepared catalyst was tested by hydrogenation of sulfolene to sulfolane. In comparison with the catalyst prepared without ultrasonication, the presence of proper ultrasonic wave during the preparation led to the improvement of silver-catalyzed electroless plating, homogeneous dispersion of Ni-B particles, narrow range of Ni-B particle size, and superior catalytic hydrogenation performance. The amorphous structure of Ni-B particles was not influenced by the ultrasonic wave. The optimal output power of ultrasonic wave was 80 W and the temperature was 50 ℃.

Key words: ultrasonic wave, amorphous alloy, nickel, boron, magnesia, supported catalyst, electroless plating, sulfolene, hydrogenation, sulfolane