Preparation of cis-pinane via α-pinene hydrogenation in water by using Ru nanoparticles immobilized in functionalized amphiphilic mesoporous silica

Amphiphilic mesoporous silica modified with trimethoxy (3,3,3-trifluoropropyl) silane (TFPS) and (3-aminopropyl) trimethoxysilane (APTS) was prepared by one-step synthesis. The structure and morphology of the mesoporous silica were characterized and confirmed by solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance, X-ray diffraction (XRD), N2 adsorption–desorption, Fourier transfer infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Meanwhile, the thermostability of the amphiphilic mesoporous silica was detected by thermogravimetric (TG) technique. Highly dispersed Ru nanoparticles supported on such amphiphilic mesoporous silica (marked as Ru/MF@MN) were synthesized by wet impregnation method with the assistance of ultrasonic. The catalyst was characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES). In water medium, Ru/MF@MN was used in α-pinene hydrogenation to prepare cis-pinane. Under the optimum reaction conditions (35 °C, 2 MPa H2, 1 h, m (H2O) : m (α-pinene) : m (Ru/MF@MN) = 200 : 60 : 1), 99.9% α-pinene conversion and 98.9% cis-pinane selectivity were obtained. When Ru/MF@MN was recycled six times, the conversion slightly decreased and the selectivity was nearly unchanged.