Ammonia synthesis on magnesia supported ruthenium catalysts with mesoporous structure

Mesoporous Ru/MgO catalysts for ammonia synthesis were prepared by sol–gel method with concurrently decomposing Ru carbonyl complex. The catalytic properties were characterized mainly by means of nitrogen adsorption isotherm, hydrogen chemisorption, X-ray diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy. The detailed observation of decarbonylation behavior on the catalysts prepared under various conditions revealed that the carbonyl complex acted as an effervescent reagent to form a mesoporous structure with radius of 1–9 nm on MgO support. Furthermore, both specific surface area and metal dispersion tended to increase with increasing the Ru carbonyl complex concentration. The best ammonia formation rate was consequently observed on the Ru/MgO catalyst (Ru: 7.1 wt%) with high surface area (290 m2/g) of this series.