Catalytic
hydrogenations represent fundamental processes and allow
for atom-efficient and clean functional group transformations for
the production of chemical intermediates and fine chemicals in chemical
industry. Herein, the Ru/CoO nanocomposites have been constructed
and applied as nanocatalysts for the hydrogenation of phenols and
furfurals into the corresponding cyclohexanols and tetrahydrofurfuryl
alcohols, respectively. The functionalized ionic liquid acted not
only as a ligand for stabilizing the Ru/CoO nanocatalyst but also
as a thermoregulated agent. The as-obtained nanocatalyst showed superior
activity, and it could be conveniently recovered via the thermoregulating phase separation. In six recycle experiments,
the catalysts maintained excellent performance. It was observed that
the catalytic performance highly hinged on the molar ratio of Ru to
Co in the nanocatalyst. The catalyst characterization was carried
out by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), high-angle
annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy (HAADF-STEM),
X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, high-resolution
mass spectrometry, Fourier transform infrared, nuclear magnetic resonance,
and UV–vis. Especially, the characterization by HRTEM and HAADF-STEM
images of the nanocatalyst demonstrated that Ru(0) and Co(II) species
were distributed uniformly and the Ru and Co(II) species were close
to each other. However, Co(0) was generated and an electronic transfer
from Co to Ru species could occur under the hydrogenation conditions.
The 13C NMR characterization indicated further that Co(II)
sites were mainly responsible for phenol adsorption. Meanwhile, the
adjacent electron-rich Ru(0) sites can promote H2 dissociation
and favor for the sequential hydrogenation.