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Boron nitride boosts catalyst activity
Unprecedented catalytic activity in ammonia synthesis has been achieved using a barium-promoted boron nitride-supported ruthenium catalyst. He measured its activity in a 3:1 mixture of hydrogen and nitrogen over a range of temperatures and pressures, finding it to be "the most active ammonia synthesis catalyst reported so far. "It is stable even at very high pressures and temperatures, which is not the case for the current commercial ruthenium catalyst supported on graphite. The stability of the boron nitride-supported catalyst approaches that of iron catalysts used in industry, whereas the graphite-supported ruthenium catalyst is thermodynamically unstable under industrial ammonia synthesis conditions." He adds that boron nitride is a chemically inert material with high temperature resistance and that it can be prepared with high surface areas. It could prove to be an interesting support for other catalyst materials, he suggests
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