Ruthenium Trichloride Catalyst in Water: Ru Colloids versus Ru Dimer Characterization Investigations

An easy-to-prepare ruthenium catalyst obtained from ruthenium(III) trichloride in water demonstrates efficient performances in the oxidation of several cycloalkanes with high selectivity toward the ketone. In this work, several physicochemical techniques were used to demonstrate the real nature of the ruthenium salt still unknown in water and to define the active species for this Csp³-H bond functionalization. From transmission electron microscopy analyses corroborated by SAXS analyses, spherical nanoobjects were observed with an average diameter of 1.75 nm, thus being in favor of the formation of reduced species. However, further investigations, based on X-ray scattering and absorption analyses, showed no evidence of the presence of a metallic Ru-Ru bond, proof of zerovalent nanoparticles, but the existence of Ru-O and Ru-Cl bonds, and thus the formation of a water-soluble complex. The EXAFS (extended X-ray absorption fine structure) spectra revealed the presence of an oxygen-bridged diruthenium complex [Ru(OH) _xCl_{3- x}]₂(μ-O) with a high oxidation state in agreement with catalytic results. This study constitutes a significant advance to determine the true nature of the RuCl₃·3H₂O salt in water and proves once again the invasive nature of the electron beam in microscopy experiments, routinely used in nanochemistry.