Lanthanide Nitrates as Effective Promoters of a Ru/Al2O3 Catalyst for Ammonia Synthesis

Abstract
Nitrates of La, Ce, and Sm were proved to be better promoters than CsNO3 for an ammonia synthesis Ru/Al2O3 catalyst. A small amount of lanthanide nitrate (M/Ru = 1) was as effective as a large amount of CsNO3 (Cs/Ru = 10) for 2wt% Ru/Al2O3 prepared from Ru3(CO)12.