Many efforts have been made to improve the Haber–Bosch process. Many metals were tested as catalysts. The requirement for suitability is the dissociative adsorption of nitrogen (i. e. the nitrogen molecule must be split into nitrogen atoms upon adsorption). If the binding of the nitrogen is too strong, the catalyst is blocked and the catalytic ability is reduced (self-poisoning). The elements in the periodic table to the left of the iron group show such strong bonds. Further, the formation of surface nitrides makes, for example, chromium catalysts ineffective. Metals to the right of the iron group, in contrast, adsorb nitrogen too weakly for ammonia synthesis. Haber initially used catalysts based on osmium and uranium. Uranium reacts to its nitride during catalysis, while osmium oxide is rare.
According to theoretical and practical studies, improvements over pure iron are limited. The activity of iron catalysts is increased by the inclusion of cobalt.