The impact of the presence and amount of [BMIM][NTf2] ionic liquid during the preparation of bulk NiMoS catalysts was investigated. It was clearly shown that these factors have a strong influence on both the morphology and specific surface area of the obtained NiMoS samples. Most interestingly the catalytic activity for the transformation of decanoic acid increased up to three times when IL was present during synthesis. In the same time, a greater selectivity towards hydrocarbons was observed. On the whole a clear relationship between catalytic activity, selectivity and NiMoS morphology was demonstrated. Consequently, it is possible to modify the morphology of the materials and impact the catalytic properties by changing the synthesis conditions. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.