Raney Nickel Catalyst

Raney nickel, also known as spongy nickel, is a solid substance that is made up of nickel obtained from an alloy of nickel and aluminium. The primary application of this solid is its use as a reagent & catalyst for many hydrogenation reactions in the field of organic chemistry.

Raney nickel is used in a large number of industrial processes and in organic synthesis because of its stability and high catalytic activity at room temperature.^[6][11][12]

Industrial applications[edit]

In a commercial application, Raney nickel is used as a catalyst for the hydrogenation of benzene to cyclohexane. Other heterogeneous catalysts, such as those using platinum group elements are used in some cases. Platinum metals tend to be more active, requiring milder temperatures, but they are more expensive than Raney nickel.^[13] The cyclohexane thus produced may be used in the synthesis of adipic acid, a raw material used in the industrial production of polyamides such as nylon