Graphite oxide functionalized with ionic liquid and ruthenium as hydrogenation catalyst

•We have successfully synthesized a composite of graphite oxide, ionic liquid, and Ru: GO-IL-Ru.•It is a good catalyst for use in the benzene hydrogenation reaction to cyclohexane.•The catalytic activity of GO-IL-Ru was good at compounds with phenyl groups, but not at vinyl compounds.•GO-IL-Ru maintains good activity after several cycles of hydrogenation reactions.

The manuscript herein is on the synthesis and characterization of a graphene composite abbreviated as GO-IL-Ru that is based on graphite oxide with additional functional groups of organic ionic trains. It contains Ru at 1.61 wt% level (by ICP-OES). We have used GO-IL-Ru as catalyst in both the hydrogenation reactions and the transfer hydrogenation reactions. The catalytic activity of GO-IL-Ru was good at compounds with phenyl groups, but not at those containing electronegative substituents or heterocyclic rings.