Geometric and electronic effects on the performance of a bifunctional Ru2P catalyst in the hydrogenation and acceptorless dehydrogenation of N-heteroarenes

Abstract

The development of bifunctional catalysts for the efficient hydrogenation and acceptorless dehydrogenation of N-heterocycles is a challenge. In this study, Ru2P/AC effectively promoted reversible transformations between unsaturated and saturated N-heterocycles affording yields of 98% and 99%, respectively. Moreover, a remarkable enhancement in the reusability of Ru2P/AC was observed compared with other Ru-based catalysts. According to density functional theory calculations, the superior performance of Ru2P/AC was ascribed to specific synergistic factors, namely geometric and electronic effects induced by P. P greatly reduced the large Ru-Ru ensembles and finely modified the electronic structures, leading to a low reaction barrier and high desorption ability of the catalyst, further boosting the hydrogenation and acceptorless dehydrogenation processes.