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Updated: Jul 1, 2025

Heterogeneous Removal of Water-Soluble Ruthenium Olefin Metathesis Catalyst from Aqueous Media Via Host-Guest Interaction
Published on: August 23, 2018
Stable Interfacial Ruthenium Species for Highly Efficient Polyolefin Upcycling
Ping Hu1,2, Congyang Zhang1,3, Mingyu Chu1,2
1Institute of Functional Nano & Soft Materials (FUNSOM), Joint International Research Laboratory of Carbon-Based Functional Materials and Devices, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, P. R. China.
Surface ligand engineering stabilizes ruthenium (Ru) in a Ru0-Ruδ+ state, enhancing polyolefin hydrogenolysis. This breakthrough boosts polyethylene conversion by over fourfold, yielding valuable liquid alkanes.
Area of Science:
- Catalysis
- Materials Science
- Chemical Engineering
Background:
- Zerovalent ruthenium (Ru) is recognized for high catalytic activity in polyolefin hydrogenolysis.
- However, the optimal structural configuration of Ru for multiple elementary reactions is unclear.
- Existing Ru species often reduce to zerovalent Ru under reaction conditions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To engineer stable Ru0-Ruδ+ complex species for improved polyolefin hydrogenolysis.
- To investigate the role of surface ligand engineering in stabilizing specific Ru oxidation states.
- To enhance the catalytic efficiency and selectivity of polyolefin degradation.
Main Methods:
- Surface ligand engineering of commercial Ru/C catalysts.
- Stabilization of Ru species in a Ruδ+ state under reaction conditions.
- Analysis of the effect of ligand modification on C-C bond scission kinetics.
Main Results:
- Stable Ru0-Ruδ+ complex species were successfully constructed.
- Ligand-stabilized Ruδ+ perturbs polyolefin C-C bond electron distribution, accelerating C-C scission.
- Optimized catalysts achieved a conversion rate of 609 g·gRu-1·h-1 for polyethylene, a 4.18-fold increase over pristine Ru/C.
- Maintained 94% selectivity toward valuable liquid alkanes.
Conclusions:
- Surface ligand engineering is an effective strategy to stabilize active Ruδ+ species.
- This approach significantly enhances catalytic performance in polyolefin hydrogenolysis.
- The method is amenable to industrial scale-up for polyolefin degradation processes.
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