Effect of pore structure of mesoporous carbon on its supported Ru catalysts for ammonia synthesis

• Published in: Chinese journal of catalysis 2013-07, Vol.34 (7), p.1395-1401
• Main Authors: ZHOU, Yaping, LAN, Guojun, ZHOU, Bin, JIANG, Wei, HAN, Wenfeng, LIU, Huazhang, LI, Ying
• Format: Article
• Language: chi ; eng
• Subjects: Ammonia; Ammonia synthesi; Carbon; Catalysis; Catalysts; High specific surface area; Mesoporous carbon; Pore structure; Porosity; Ruthenium-based catalyst; Silicon dioxide; Surface area; Synthesis
• ISSN: 1872-2067; 0253-9837; 1872-2067
• DOI: 10.1016/S1872-2067(12)60596-8

Mesoporous carbon (MC) was prepared by a hard-template method and used as support for the preparation of a Ru-based ammonia synthesis catalyst, Ba-Ru-K/MC. N2 adsorption-desorption, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy were used to characterize the mesoporous carbon and its supported Ru catalysts. The effects of pore structure of the Ba-Ru-K/MC catalyst on its performance for ammonia synthesis were studied. The results show that the surface area of the mesoporous carbon material varies with the SiO2/C mass ratio and reaches the largest at 1.0 of SiO2/C. The catalytic activity of Ba-Ru-K/MC for ammonia synthesis increases with increased mesoporous surface area of the mesoporous carbon. The reaction rate of ammonia synthesis is 139 mmol/(gcat·h) at 425 °C, 10 MPa, and a gas hourly space velocity of 10000 h−1. The pore structure of the Ba-Ru-K catalyst supported on mesoporous carbon was controlled by changing the particle size of SiO2 and the SiO2/C ratio. The catalyst activity for ammonia synthesis increased with an increased mesoporous surface area.