Enhanced hydrogenation of olefins and ketones with a ruthenium complex covalently anchored on graphene oxide

Graphene oxide (GO) is a promising support for anchoring homogeneous metal complexes because of its two-dimensional structure, huge surface area and diversity for chemical functionalizations. In this study, a ruthenium supported catalyst has been synthesized by covalently bonding a ruthenium complex (RuCl2(PPh3)3) onto the GO surface through coordination interaction with aminosilane ligand spacers. The supported catalyst showed enhanced catalytic performance towards hydrogenation of olefins and ketones compared with the homogeneous analogue, and it could be readily recycled and reused several times without discernible loss of its activity.