Efficient ammonia synthesis over a Ru/La_0.5Ce_0.5O_1.75 catalyst pre-reduced at high temperature

Ammonia is an important feedstock for producing fertiliser and is also a potential energy carrier. However, the process currently used for ammonia synthesis, the Haber-Bosch process, consumes a huge amount of energy; therefore the development of new catalysts for synthesising ammonia at a high rate under mild conditions (low temperature and low pressure) is necessary. Here, we show that Ru/La_0.5Ce_0.5O_1.75 pre-reduced at an unusually high temperature (650 °C) catalysed ammonia synthesis at extremely high rates under mild conditions; specifically, at a reaction temperature of 350 °C, the rates were 13.4, 31.3, and 44.4 mmol g^-1 h^-1 at 0.1, 1.0, and 3.0 MPa, respectively. Kinetic analysis revealed that this catalyst is free of hydrogen poisoning under the conditions tested. Electron energy loss spectroscopy combined with O₂ absorption capacity measurements revealed that the reduced catalyst consisted of fine Ru particles (mean diameter < 2.0 nm) that were partially covered with partially reduced La_0.5Ce_0.5O_1.75 and were dispersed on a thermostable support. Furthermore, Fourier transform infrared spectra measured after N₂ addition to the catalyst revealed that N₂ adsorption on Ru atoms that interacted directly with the reduced La_0.5Ce_0.5O_1.75 weakened the NN bond and thus promoted its cleavage, which is the rate-determining step for ammonia synthesis. Our results indicate that high-temperature pre-reduction of this catalyst, which consists of Ru supported on a thermostable composite oxide with a cubic fluorite structure and containing reducible cerium, resulted in the formation of many sites that were highly active for N₂ reduction by hydrogen.