Ru2Ptx/AC catalysts with tunable electronic configurations for in-situ hydrogenolysis of glycerol

[Display omitted] •Active and durable Lewis acidic RuOx catalysts were reported for in-situ hydrogenolysis of glycerol for first time in literature.•RuPt catalysts display a superior 9-fold activity enhancement compared to monometallic catalysts.•Formulation of bridging Ru-O-Pt sites are key for synergistic dehydrogenation and hydrogenolysis reactions. Hydrogenolysis of polyols using H2 formed in-situ display technological advantages over conventional processes under pressurized H2. In this work, we demonstrated an effective design strategy using electronic coupling effect to enhance Lewis acidity of active carbon (AC) supported RuOx catalysts with remarkable activity and durability for H2 generation and hydrogenolysis of glycerol into 1,2-PDO as the target product. Structural characterization revealed that, the incorporation of Pt into framework of RuOx clusters (Pt/Ru: 0.24–0.78 atomic ratio) contributes to electronic coupling at interface. Such electronic reconfiguration enables the formulation of intrinsically active and stable RuOx sites with a 9-fold activity enhancement (TOF: 827 h−1 at 200 °C) toward glycerol hydrogenolysis to 1,2-propanediol (selectivity ∼51 %) in the absence of external H2. Detailed experimental studies also showed that, the unique Ru-O-Pt bridge structures formulated in bimetallic Ru2Ptx/AC catalysts, contribute to enhanced performances towards C-O cleavage and stability against metal agglomeration. The methodology employed in this work could be extended to develop other important industrial catalysts.