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

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 (Ru x -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 Ru 2.0 /NC catalyst in water. The FDCA productivity in this case is also as high as 4.8 mol FDCA ‧mol Ru −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 Ru 2.0 /NC was endowed with high N content and abundant electron-rich Ru 0 NPs evoked by the electronic interactions between the NC support the Ru NPs. These facts greatly contribute to the activation of O 2 , 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.