A series of early metal-promoted Ru-, Pd-, Pt-, and Rh-doped mesoporous tantalum oxide catalysts were synthesized using a variety of dopant ratios and dopant precursors, and the effects of these parameters on the catalytic activity of NH3 synthesis from H-2 and N-2 were explored. Previous studies on this system supported an unprecedented mechanism in which N-N cleavage occurred at the Ta sites rather than on Ru. The results of the present study showed, for all systems, that Ba is a better promoter than Cs or La and that the nitrate is a superior precursor for Ba than the isopropoxide or the hydroxide. N-15-labeling studies showed that residual nitrate functions as the major ammonia source in the first hour but that it does not account for the ammonia produced after the nitrate is completely consumed. Ru-3(CO)(12) proved to be a better Ru precursor than RuCl3 center dot 3H(2)O, and an almost linear increase in activity with increasing Ru loading level was observed at 350 degrees C (623 K). However, at 175 degrees C (448 K), the increase in Ru had no effect on the reaction rate. Pd functioned with comparable rates to Ru, while Pt and Rh functioned far less efficiently. The surprising activities for the Pd-doped catalysts, coupled with XPS evidence for low-valent Ta in this catalyst system, support a mechanism in which cleavage of the N-N triple bond occurs on Ta rather than the precious metal because the E-a value for N-N cleavage on Pd is 2.5 times greater than that for Ru, and the 9.3 kJ mol(-1) E-a value measured previously for the Ru system suggests that N-N cleavage cannot occur at the Ru surface.