Dehydrogenative Oxidation of Alcohols Catalyzed by Highly Dispersed Ruthenium Incorporated Titanium Oxide

Abstract

Ruthenium incorporated titanium oxides (RuxTiO2) were prepared by a one-step hydrothermal method using Ti(SO4)(2) and RuCl3 as the precursor of Ti and Ru, respectively. X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), transmission electron microscope (TEM), Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) mapping, and BET were applied for the analyses of catalysts. Ruthenium atoms are well dispersed in the anatase phase of TiO2 and the crystallite size of RuxTiO2 (approximate to 17 nm) is smaller than that of pure TiO2 (approximate to 45 nm). In particular, we found that our homemade pure TiO2 exhibits a strong Lewis acid property. Therefore, the cooperation of ruthenium atoms playing a role in the hydride elimination and the Lewis acid site of TiO2 can efficiently transfer primary alcohols into corresponding aldehydes in an oxidant-free condition.