Ru subnanoparticles on N-doped carbon layer coated SBA-15 as efficient Catalysts for arene hydrogenation

[Display omitted] •The N-doped carbon layer coated SBA-15 support has been developed.•The Ru was loaded on the support with an ultra-low loading (ca. 0.1 wt.%).•The uniform sub-1-nm Ru particles (0.5 nm) are achieved on the support.•The Ru catalyst showed an exceptionally high TOF and good recyclability.•The activity enhanced dramatically with decreasing the sizes of Ru particles. The N-doped carbon layer coated SBA-15 support has been accomplished via a pyrolysis process. The ultra-low loading Ru nanoparticles (ca. 0.1 wt.%) was incorporated into the support by impregnation and the sequential reduction. The images of HAADF-STEM revealed that the Ru particles with sub-1-nm size (0.2-0.7 nm) were uniformly dispersed on the support. The ultrafine Ru particles displayed the excellent activity for the hydrogenation of olefins, arenes, phenol derivatives and heteroarenes in aqueous phase. The aliphatic or alicyclic compounds were produced selectively without the hydrogenolysis of CO and CN bonds. The high turnover frequency (TOF) values can reach up to 10,000 h−1. Notably, the activity of these catalysts improved dramatically with decreasing the sizes of Ru particles. Meanwhile, the N-doped carbon layer coating endowed the high stability of the Ru catalysts and prevented the leaching of the Ru species owning to the strong interaction between doped-N atoms and the ultrafine Ru particles. Overall, this work provides a highly attractive strategy to construct the supported sub-1-nm Ru particles utilized for the aqueous hydrogenation.