Pyruvic Acid Hydrogenation in Water by Diamine-Capped Ruthenium Nanoparticles

Small-sized (dm = 2.07 nm) diamine (L)-stabilized ruthenium nanoparticles (NPs) were successfully synthesized upon the reaction of Ru(acetylacetonate)3 with hydrogen in the presence of L and dichloromethane. The obtained L-capped ruthenium nanoparticles (RuL) were used as-synthesized and after deposition on the surface of carbon (CK), featured by a high surface area (RuL@CK, Ru content of 0.44 wt %) to selectively catalyze the hydrogenation of pyruvic acid in water at reaction temperatures up to 80 °C. The high efficiency of the latter catalyst emerged from parallel catalytic reactions conducted with the reference catalyst Ru@CK, which was obtained by applying the same synthesis protocol in the absence of L. The role of L in the catalytic pyruvic acid hydrogenation reactions emerged from catalytic reactions combined with high-resolution transmission electron microscopic, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic, and electrochemical studies.