Preparation of High Activity Catalyst for Ammonia Synthesis by Supporting Well-Defined Ru Nanoparticles on γ-Al2O3

Abstract Uniform ruthenium metal nanoparticles with an average diameter of 5 nm have been prepared and supported on γ-Al2O3 up to 6.3 wt%. The Ru/Al2O3 catalyst prepared by this method had unusually high activity for ammonia synthesis. The rate of ammonia formation was at least 12 times higher than the rate of non-promoted Ru/Al2O3 catalysts prepared by conventional impregnation methods.