Formation mechanism of highly dispersed semi-embedded ruthenium nanoparticles in porous carbon matrix determined by in situ temperature-programmed infrared spectroscopy

The carbonization process of a sucrose‐RuCl3/SBA‐15composite towards a Ru‐containing ordered mesoporous carbon(Ru‐OMC)catalyst was studied by in situ temperature‐programmed infrared spectroscopy to identify the stabilization role of organic carbon precursors during the formation of highly dispersed Ru nanoparticles.The results show that the formation of metal carbonyl species results in the formation of homogeneously distributed Ru nanoparticles,and the rigid silica support and carbon matrix around the Ru(CO)x complex can significantly avoid the sintering and agglomeration of Ru metal particles during elevated temperature thermal treatment.These results ultimately demonstrate that sucrose plays important roles in the formation of homogeneously distributed Ru nanoparticles in a porous carbon matrix.?2018,Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics,Chinese Academy of Sciences.Published by Elsevier B.V.All rights reserved.

A highly stable and active mesoporous ruthenium catalyst for ammonia synthesis prepared by a RuCl_3/SiO_2-templated approach

Molecular nitrogen is relatively inert and the activation of its triple bond is full of challenges and of significance.Hence,searching for an efficiently heterogeneous catalyst with high stability and dispersion is one of the important targets of chemical technology.Here,we report a Ba‐K/Ru‐MC catalyst with Ru particle size of 1.5–2.5 nm semi‐embedded in a mesoporous C matrix and with dual promoters of Ba and K that exhibits a higher activity than the supported Ba‐Ru‐K/MC catalyst,although both have similar metal particle sizes for ammonia synthesis.Further,the Ba‐K/Ru‐MC catalyst is more active than commercial fused Fe catalysts and supported Ru catalysts.Characterization techniques such as high‐resolution transmission electron microscopy,N2 physisorption,CO chemisorption,and temperature‐programmed reduction suggest that the Ru nanoparticles have strong interactions with the C matrix in Ba‐K/Ru‐MC,which may facilitate electron transport better than supported nanoparticles.