("nickel itch"). Nickel is also rated as being a possible human carcinogen by the IARC (Group 2B, EU category 3) and teratogen, while the inhalation of fine aluminium oxide particles is associated with Shaver's disease. Development Murray Raney graduated as a mechanical engineer from the University of Kentucky in 1909. In 1915 he joined the Lookout Oil and Refining Company in Tennessee and was responsible for the installation of electrolytic cells for the production of hydrogen which was used in the hydrogenation of vegetable oils. During that time the industry used a nickel catalyst prepared from nickel(II) oxide. Believing that better catalysts could be produced, around 1921 he started to perform independent research while still working for Lookout Oil. In 1924 a 1:1 ratio Ni/Si alloy was produced, which after treatment with sodium hydroxide, was found to be five times more active than the best catalyst used in the hydrogenation of cottonseed oil. A patent for this discovery was issued in December 1925. Subsequently, Raney produced a 1:1 Ni/Al alloy following a procedure similar to the one used for the nickel-silicon catalyst. He found that the resulting catalyst was even more active and filed a patent application in 1926. This is now a common alloy composition for modern Raney nickel catalysts. Other common alloy compositions include 21:29 Ni/Al and 3:7 Ni/Al. Both the activity and preparation protocols for these catalysts vary. Following the development of Raney nickel, other alloy systems with aluminium were considered, of which the most notable include copper, ruthenium and cobalt. Further research showed that adding a small amount of a third metal to the binary alloy would promote the activity of the catalyst. Some widely used promoters are zinc, molybdenum and chromium. An alternative way of preparing enantioselective Raney nickel has been devised by surface adsorption of tartaric acid. See also Nickel aluminide Urushibara nickel Rieke nickel Nickel boride catalyst Raney cobalt, a similar cobalt/aluminum alloy catalyst which is sometimes more selective for certain hydrogenation products (e.g. primary amines via nitrile reduction). References External links International Chemical Safety Card 0062 NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards 1941 paper describing the preparation of W-2 grade Raney nickel: Catalysts Nickel alloys Hydrogenation catalysts