Catalysis and characterization of carbon-supported ruthenium for cellulose hydrolysis

Ru catalyst supported on mesoporous carbon CMK-3 shows high activity and durability for the hydrolysis of cellulose to glucose in hot compressed water at 503 K. The Ru/CMK-3 catalyst also hydrolyzes cellobiose to glucose in water at 393 K. Several physicochemical methods such as XRD, TEM, XPS, H2-TPR, O2-titration, and XAFS were used to characterize active Ru species on CMK-3 and to clarify the formation pathway of the active species. From these studies, we conclude that hydrous Ru oxide RuO2·2H2O is formed on CMK-3 after H2-reduction of RuCl3/CMK-3 at 673 K and subsequent passivation at room temperature, and that the Ru oxide nanoparticles with a mean diameter of 1.1 nm are highly dispersed on CMK-3.

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► Ru/CMK-3 shows high activity and durability for the hydrolysis of cellulose in water.
► Ru species hydrolyzes cellobiose to glucose without adding any mineral acids.
► Ru on CMK-3 is revealed to be hydrous Ru oxide by physicochemical measurements.
► The hydrous Ru oxide is easily prepared by a conventional impregnation method.