Effect of barium and potassium promoter on Co/CeO2 catalysts in ammonia synthesis

The Co/CeO2 catalysts promoted with Ba or K were prepared to study the effect of promoter on the catalytic performance of ammonia synthesis. The results show that the presence of Ba or K promoter changes the properties of CeO2-supported Co catalysts including the surface area, the crystallite size and the morphology of CeO2, the reduction degree of cobalt species and the adsorption performance of hydrogen and nitrogen. As a consequence, the samples promoted with an appropriate amount of Ba show higher ammonia synthesis rates, while the catalysts with high Ba loading or K promoter all exhibit low catalytic activities. (C) 2018 Chinese Society of Rare Earths. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.