The catalytic hydrogenation
of organic compounds containing carbonyl
groups has been extensively studied and widely used in industrial
processes. Herein, we report the preparation of a novel nanomaterial,
α-zirconium phosphate (α-ZrP) nanoplatelet-supported ruthenium
nano-anadem catalyst, which possesses high selectivity in the catalytic
hydrogenation of aromatic ketones. The α-ZrP nanoplatelets were
prepared using a modified reflux method. Through an ion-exchange and
reduction reaction pathway, ruthenium nanoparticles were loaded on
ZrP to produce Ru-ZrP with a nano-anadem structure. The successful
synthesis of Ru-ZrP composites is supported by a series of characterization
techniques (PXRD, SEM, TEM, EDS, XPS, FT-IR, etc.). Compared with
pure ZrP nanoplatelets, the catalytic hydrogenation of acetophenone
has been dramatically improved when using Ru-ZrP. Full conversion
was achieved at room temperature, and the yield of 1-cyclohexylehtanol
was up to 95%. The effects of reaction time, reaction temperature,
and hydrogen pressure were investigated. The investigation illustrates
that there are two proposed reaction pathways in the hydrogenation
of acetophenone, which are further supported by computational analyses.
Recycling experiments indicate that the Ru-ZrP material could be reused
four times without a noticeable activity decrease.