Abstract
The status of present-day ammonia synthesis is the product of research spanning almost a century. Much of the effort has been directed toward elucidating the mechanism of the promoter effects of potassium and aluminum oxide on the rate of ammonia synthesis. Out of this work has evolved a multitude of techniques, concepts, and ideas which have profoundly affected catalytic chemistry. Many reviews have been written on this subject,(1–3) but it becomes evident from them that an understanding at the molecular level of the promoters is still lacking. A principal reason for this deficiency is that the bulk of this early work could only use indirect methods to study the catalyst. For example, a large amount of kinetic data relating the gas phase ammonia concentration to the surface concentration of promoters has been obtained.(4,5) This type of information is important for optimizing the concentration of promoters but it fails to reveal the effects at the atomic level of the promoters within the working catalyst. With the advent of combined surface-science/high-pressure systems, high-pressure reaction data (>1 atmosphere) can now be correlated to the structure of the catalyst surface at the atomic level, which is determined in the ultrahigh vacuum environment (<10−8 torr). The combination of surface science and high-pressure catalysis provides powerful tools in the study of the reactivity and structure of surfaces. This chapter will be devoted to describing how surface science work, combined with high-pressure data, has elucidated the structure sensitivity and the role of potassium and aluminum oxide in ammonia synthesis. The structure sensitivity of ammonia synthesis will be presented first, since it serves as necessary background when explaining potassium and aluminum oxide promotion in ammonia synthesis.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
A. Nielsen, An Investigation on Promoted Iron Catalysts for the Synthesis of Ammonia, 3rd edn., Jul. Gjellerups Forlag, Copenhagen (1968).
A. Ozaki, Catalysis, Science and Technology, Vol. 1, Chapter 3, Springer-Verlag, Berlin (1981).
W. G. Frankenburg, Catalysis, p. 171, Reinhold, New York (1955).
M. Temkin and V. Pyzhev, Acta Phys. Chim. URSS 12, 327 (1940).
A. Ozaki, H. S. Taylor, and M. Boudart, Proc. R. Soc. London 47, 258 (1960).
S. A. Topham, Catalysis, Science and Technology, Vol. 7, Springer-Verlag, Berlin (1985).
G. Ertl, J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A1(2), 1247 (1983).
S. Brunauer and P. H. Emmett, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 62 1732 (1940).
R. Krabetz and C. Peters, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 77, 333 (1965).
P. H. Emmett and S. Brunauer, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 59, 310 (1937).
H. H. Madden and W. Goodman, Surf. Sci. 150, 39 (1985).
S. Khammouma, PhD thesis, Stanford University (1972).
D. R. Strongin, S. R. Bare, and G. A. Somorjai, J. Catal. 103, 289 (1987).
D. W. Blakely, C. I. Kozak, B. A. Sexton, and G. A. Somorjai, J. Vac. Sci. Technol. 13, 1091 (1976).
G. A. Somorjai, Chemistry in Two Dimensions: Surfaces, Cornell University Press, Ithaca (1981).
N. D. Spencer, R. C. Schoonmaker, and G. A. Somorjai, J. Catal. 74, 129 (1982).
D. R. Strongin, J. Carrazza, S. R. Bare, and G. A. Somorjai, J. Catal. 103, 213 (1987).
R. Smoluchoswki, Phys. Rev. 60, 661 (1941).
J. Hoelzl and F. K. Schulte, Solid Surface Physics, Springer-Verlag, Berlin (1979).
J. McAllister and R. S. Hansen, J. Chem. Phys. 59, 414 (1973).
G. Ertl, S. B. Lee, and M. Weiss, Surf Sci. 114, 527 (1982).
A. Nielsen, Catal. Rev. 4, 1 (1970).
L. Falicov and G. A. Somorjai, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 82, 2207 (1985).
J. A. Dumesic, H. Topsøe, and M. Boudart, J. Catal. 37, 513 (1975).
M. Asscher, J. Carrazza, M. M. Khan, K. B. Lewis, and G. A. Somorjai, J. Catal. 98, 227 (1986).
G. Broden and H. P. Bonzel, Surf. Sci. 84, 106 (1979).
S. B. Lee, M. Weiss, and G. Ertl, Surf Sci. 108, 357 (1981).
R. L. Gerlach and T. N. Rhodin, Surf. Sci. 19, 403 (1970).
P. H. Redhead, Vacuum 12, 203 (1962).
G. Pirug, G. Broden, and H. P. Bonzel, Surf. Sci. 94, 323 (1980).
F. Bozso, G. Ertl, M. Grunze, and M. Weiss, J. Catal. 49, 18 (1977).
F. Bozso, G. Ertl, and M. Weiss, J. Catal. 50, 519 (1977).
Z. Paal, G. Ertl, and S. B. Lee, Appl. Surf Sci. 8, 231 (1981).
G. Ertl, S. B. Lee, and M. Weiss, Surf Sei. 114, 527 (1982).
D. R. Strongin and G. A. Somorjai, J. Catal. 109, 51 (1988).
T. E. Madey and C. Benndorf, Surf. Sei. 152/153, 587 (1985).
C. Benndorf and T. E. Madey, Chem. Phys. Lett. 101, L277 (1983).
J. G. van Ommen, W. J. Bolink, J. Prasad, and P. Mars, J. Catal. 38, 120 (1975).
S. R. Bare, D. R. Strongin, and G. A. Somorjai, J. Phys. Chem. 90, 4726 (1986).
D. R. Strongin and G. A. Somorjai, Catal. Lett. 1, 98 (1988).
K. Altenburg, H. Bosch, J. G. Ommen, and P. J. Gellings, J. Catal. 66, 326 (1980).
R. Brill, J. Polym. Sci. 12, 353 (1962).
G. Ertl, M. Weiss, and S. B. Lee, Chem. Phys. Lett. 60, 391 (1979).
W. D. Mross, Catal. Rev. Sci. Eng. 25(4), 591 (1983).
J. A. Dumesic, H. Topsoe, and M. Boudait, J. Catal. 37, 513 (1975).
T. Rayment, R. Schlogl, J. M. Thomas, and G. Ertl, Nature 315, 311 (1985).
S. H. Overbury, P. A. Bertrand, and G. A. Somorjai, Chem. Rev. 75(5), 547 (1975).
D. Beruta, L. Baro, and A. Passerone, in Oxides and Oxide Films (A. K. Vijh, ed.), Vol. 6. Dekker, New York (1981).
M. Langell and G. A. Somorjai, J. Vac. Sci. Technol. 21, 858 (1982).
G. Ertl and K. Wandelt, Surf Sci. 50, 479 (1975).
I. Sushumna and E. Ruckenstein, J. Catal. 94, 239 (1985).
E. Paparazzo, J. L. Dormann, and D. Fiorani, Phys. Rev. B 28, 1154 (1983).
E. Paparazzo, Appl. Surf. Sci. 25, 1 (1986).
W. S. Borghard and M. Boudart, J. Catal. 80, 194 (1983).
H. Ludwiczek, A. Preisinger, A. Fischer, R. Hosemann, A. Schonfeld, and W. Vogel, J. Catal. 51, 326 (1978).
G. Fagherazzi, F. Galante, F. Garbassi, and N. Pernicone, J. Catal. 26, 344 (1972).
Z. Paal, G. Ertl, and S. B. Lee, Appl. Surf. Sci. 8, 231 (1981).
D. R. Strongin and G. A. Somorjai, J. Catal. 109 51 (1988).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1991 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Strongin, D.R., Somorjai, G.A. (1991). A Surface Science and Catalytic Study of the Effects of Aluminum Oxide and Potassium on the Ammonia Synthesis Over Iron Single-Crystal Surfaces. In: Jennings, J.R. (eds) Catalytic Ammonia Synthesis. Fundamental and Applied Catalysis. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-9592-9_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-9592-9_4
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4757-9594-3
Online ISBN: 978-1-4757-9592-9
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive