The hydrogenation characteristics of the slurry composed of the NH
4F solution treated Mg
2Ni and liquid C
6H
6 were studied. The F-treatment results in a net-shaped MgF
2 surface and higher nickel content in the sub-layer. It is found that the hydride of the NH
4F treated alloy has a much higher activity for the hydrogenation of benzene. The catalytic activity for hydrogenation of the alloy depended strongly on the surface properties of the catalyst. At 483 K and under a hydrogen pressure of 4.0 MPa, the alloy absorbed hydrogen first, transformed into hydride and then the benzene was hydrogenated to cyclohexane with the hydride as the catalyst. The hydrogen absorption capacity of slurry system composed of 20 wt.%treated alloy and benzene reached
6.4 wt.%and the hydrogenation completed in
20 min. Results of X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis on the crystal structure, surface composition and surface morphology of the untreated and treated alloy are presented and discussed.