Supported ruthenium nanoparticles on ordered mesoporous carbons using a cyclodextrin-assisted hard-template approach and their applications as hydrogenation catalysts

The present study is concerned with the preparation of ordered mesoporous carbons containing uniform dispersions of ruthenium nanoparticles by a hard-template method, based on the use of RuCl3 and cyclodextrin as respective sources of metal and carbon. The influence of chemical structure of the parent CD [randomly methylated-beta-CD (RAME-beta-CD) and 2-hydroxypropyl-beta-CD (HP-beta-CD)] and loading of the ruthenium source are studied in detail. The catalysts are carefully characterized by N-2-adsorption, TEM, XRD, CO pulse chemisorption, TG-MS and H-2-TPR. The most outstanding effect is obtained when HP-beta-CD is used, allowing to stabilize small and reactive Ru particles (1-2 nm) in the carbon matrix, with a good compromise between immobilization, surface availability and hydrogen spillover effect. The catalytic systems prepared from HP-beta-CD display remarkably high catalytic activities in the liquid-phase hydrogenation of various substrates while their reusability and robustness are also demonstrated. (C) 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.