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Updated: Jun 17, 2026

Ammonia Synthesis at Low Pressure
Published on: August 23, 2017
Active nitrogen mediated selective ruthenium migration on ceria for high pressure ammonia decomposition
Gunjoo Kim1,2, Gahong Kim1,3, Hyunsik Hwang1
1Center for Hydrogen·Fuel Cell Research, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
None:
Precise stabilization of atomic structures under reaction environments remains a central challenge in heterogeneous catalysis. Here, we demonstrate that ammonia (NH3) serves as a chemically active nitrogen source to derive the selective migration of ruthenium (Ru) atoms onto ceria (CeO2) domains, forming a durable atomically dispersed structure. During ammonia decomposition, nitrogen-containing intermediates promote atomic redistribution of Ru and anchor the atoms selectively at CeO2, yielding stable Ru-ceria interfaces. The resulting catalyst exhibits high activity in high-pressure ammonia decomposition for hydrogen production, attributed to its lowered activation energy and mitigated hydrogen poisoning. Furthermore, both the catalytic performance and the atomic Ru structure are preserved during long-term high-pressure operation, confirming the exceptional structural stability of the designed configuration. This study establishes active-nitrogen-driven migration as an effective strategy for constructing robust and reaction-friendly catalyst surface.
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