Direct Synthesis of Ultrasmall Ruthenium Nanoparticles on Porous Supports Using Natural Sources for Highly Efficient and Selective Furfural Hydrogenation

The synthesis of noble-metal nanoparticles (NPs) with ultrasmall particle sizes (<2 nm) is crucially important but challenging. Making use of the unique structure of natural sources for the preparation of functional materials is an attractive topic. By taking advantage of the coordination effect between polyphenols and metal ions, we report a straightforward strategy for the synthesis of porous heterogeneous catalysts containing ultrasmall Ru NPs. These catalysts exhibit excellent catalytic activity for the selective hydrogenation of furfural. We envisage that this strategy will find a broad range of applications in the near future.