Enhancing the interactions between metal nanoparticles (NPs) and their support is an effective strategy to promote the catalytic performance of supported metal catalysts in heterogeneous catalytic reactions. Here, we show that such a phenomenon can take place in Y2O3-supported Ru nanoparticles (NPs) (Ru/Y2O3) catalysts in the ammonia synthesis reaction. By enhancing the interaction between Ru NPs and the Y2O3 support, enhanced catalytic activity was achieved on Ru/Y2O3 catalyst obtained from the precipitation method, superior to the Ru/Y2O3 analogue with nearly identical Ru NPs from the milling method. Combined experimental studies show that Ru/Y2O3 with enhanced metal–support interaction facilitates the activation of reactants including N2 and H2. Consequently, the Ru/Y2O3 catalyst obtained from the precipitation method exhibited excellent activity and intrinsic activity toward ammonia synthesis, comparable with many typical benchmark Ru-based catalysts for ammonia synthesis. These findings not only reveal the promising use of Y2O3 for the preparation of efficient Ru-based catalysts for ammonia synthesis but also provide a facile strategy to modulate the activity of supported Ru NPs.
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