Electron-rich ruthenium nanoparticles on nitrogen-doped carbon for the efficient catalytic oxidation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural into 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid

Abstract

Modulating the electronic structure of metal nanoparticles (NPs) demonstrates to be useful for the optimization of the catalytic performance. Herein, electron-sufficient ruthenium NPs were successfully constructed on a nitrogen-doped carbon support (Rux-NC), which displayed excellent catalytic activity for the oxidation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) into 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA). Especially, a high FDCA yield of 97% was implemented over Ru2.0/NC catalyst in water. The FDCA productivity in this case is also as high as 4.8 molFDCA‧molRu−1‧h−1, which value exceeds most of the previous reported Ru-based catalysts for the production of FDCA. It has been disclosed that the Ru2.0/NC was endowed with high N content and abundant electron-rich Ru0 NPs evoked by the electronic interactions between the NC support the Ru NPs. These facts greatly contribute to the activation of O2, and accelerate the oxidation both of the hydroxymethyl and aldehyde groups of HMF to the carboxyl one. This work provides new understanding for the development of effective Ru-based catalysts for the catalytic oxidation reactions by the electronic structure regulation strategy.