The reaction kinetics of precipitation from aqueous solution is not only a function of the concentration of reagents but also depends on the properties of the solid particles formed in the process. These property changes arise from the increasing influence of surface properties in comparison to volumetric bulk-properties as the particle size decreases. The ratio a of the active surface area to the actual surface area of the particles in the system is used in this work to evaluate the reaction activity of the particles. The investigation of the reaction kinetics of nickel reduction without sampling during the process of the reaction was successfully carried out in the experiment. The overall kinetics of nickel reduction have been suggested, where the constants relate to the main processes of nickel precipitation from the solution. The significant agglomeration reduces the deactivation of the nickel particles in the precipitation process, while breakage and crystal growth decrease the activation. The activations of dry and wet seeds are insignificantly different. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.