각각 다른 출발물질로부터 네 종류의 수산화니켈을 제조하여 이들의 성질을 X-선회절, 열분석, 적외선스펙트라를 이용하여 조사하였다. 그리고 수산화니켈을 진공분해시켜 산화니켈촉매를 얻었으며 이들의 콩기름 수소화에 대한 활성을 비교 검토하였다. 그 결과 요소의 가수 분해로 제조된 수산화니켈은 반결정성의 수화된 구조였으며, 암모니아수나, 수산화나트리움으로 침전시켜 제조된 것은 brucite 형의 육방정계의 구조를 하고 있었다. 그리고 수산화니켈의 제조 방법 및 출발물질의 상이에 따라 여러 종류의 흡착종 즉 질산기, 황산기, 이산화탄소, 요소, 암모니아에 의한 흡수띠가 적외선스펙트라에 나타났으며, 이중에서 황산기종과 질산기종은 430 ℃의 높은 진공온도에서도 상당히 남아 있었다. 이들 흡착종은 촉매활성에 상당히 영향을 미쳤다. 또한 NiO（N-U） 촉매가 가장 높은 촉매활성을 나타내었으며, 400 ℃에서 1.5시간동안 진공시켰을 때에 촉매활성이 최고로 나타났다.

Four kinds of nickel hydroxide were prepared from different starting materials, and their properties were studied by means of X-ray diffraction, thermal analysis, and IR spectra. The nickel oxide catalysts were prepared by decomposing these nickel hydroxides in vacuo and their catalytic activity was tested for the hydrogenation of soybean oil. Consequently, it was found that nickel hydroxide prepared by urea hydrolysis was semicrystalline of hydrated structure, while the others, three kinds of nickel hydroxide precipitated by ammonium hydroxide or sodium hydroxide were all the same hexagonal system of brucite type. The various adsorbed species including nitrate ion, sulfate ion, carbon dioxide, ammonia, and urea were observed in IR spectra. Among these species, nitrate and sulfate species were so stable that they remained considerably even after evacuation at 430 ℃. These adsorbed species affected the catalytic activity profoundly. Also, it was found that NiO （N-U） catalyst exhibited higher catalytic activity than any other catalysts and showed a maximum activity after evacuation at 400 ℃ for 1.5 hrs.