The liquid-phase selective hydrogenation of benzophenone to benzhydrol has been investigated over Ni-B amorphous alloy catalysts and a detailed reaction mechanism has been proposed based on GC-MS La-doped Ni-B exhibits smaller particle sizes and more active centers but some agglomeration compared with Ni-B The agglomeration can be inhibited by application of ultrasound wherein the surface of the catalyst becomes homogeneous and the coverage of Ni centers is decreased correspondingly The ultrasonic assisted Ni-La-B catalyst is found to have better catalytic performance than Ni-B Ni-La-B and Raney Ni and this can be attributed to the synergistic effect between La addition and ultrasound (C) 2010 Elsevier B V All rights reserved