Boosting the Catalytic Performance of Co/Mg/La Catalyst for Ammonia Synthesis by Selecting a Pre-Treatment Method

The influence of the calcination process on the physicochemical properties and catalytic behavior of the Co/Mg/La catalysts for ammonia synthesis has been investigated. The catalysts were prepared using the different thermal pre-treatment methods prior to the activation, i.e., drying and calcination, and the respective activities for ammonia synthesis were assessed. It was found out that changing from air calcination prior to activation to direct activation of the co-precipitated species led to the different catalytic performances. The most favorable catalytic performance was achieved with Co/Mg/La prepared by calcination in air. Detailed characterization methods, employing e.g., XRPD, H-2-TPD, N-2-TPD, CO2-TPD, SEM, and TEM, showed that the superior catalytic behavior of this catalyst was attributed to its strong basicity and favorable adsorption properties toward hydrogen and nitrogen.

Automated summary

The influence of different thermal pre-treatment methods on the Co/Mg/La catalysts for ammonia synthesis was studied. Air calcination prior to activation was found to lead to the most favorable catalytic performance, attributed to the catalyst's strong basicity and favorable adsorption properties toward hydrogen and nitrogen. Detailed characterization methods showed that the superior catalytic behavior of this catalyst was due to its unique physicochemical properties.