Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 16, 2026

Heterogeneous Removal of Water-Soluble Ruthenium Olefin Metathesis Catalyst from Aqueous Media Via Host-Guest Interaction
Published on: August 23, 2018
Green One-Pot Synthesis of Benzimidazoles from Dinitroarenes in Water Using a Ru-Doped Co-Based Heterogeneous
José Luis Del Río-Rodríguez1, Silvia Gutiérrez-Tarriño1, María Asunción Molina2,3
1Instituto de Tecnología Química, Universitat Politècnica de València-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (UPV-CSIC), Avda. de los Naranjos s/n, Valencia 46022, Spain.
None:
A novel methodology is presented for preparing non-noble metal-based heterogeneous catalysts doped with low amounts of noble metals, yielding highly active and reusable materials for sustainable organic transformations. A new Co-Ru@C catalyst was developed by incorporating small ruthenium nanoparticles (1 wt %) and cobalt nanoparticles (10 wt %) on Vulcan carbon via pyrolysis of a ruthenium-doped cobalt metal-organic framework supported on carbon (2D-Co-(Ru)-MOF/C). Advanced characterization (in situ PXRD and XAS, HAADF-STEM, HRTEM) confirmed strong Co-Ru interactions, enhancing catalytic activity. The catalyst was evaluated in the one-pot reductive amination of dinitrobenzenes to benzimidazoles using molecular hydrogen and water, which is in line with green chemistry. The synergistic effect between Co and Ru enabled quantitative product yields under significantly milder reaction conditions than the existing ones. In addition, ruthenium was found to facilitate hydrogen activation in the bimetallic material compared with its undoped Co@C counterpart. Regarding stability, the Co-Ru@C catalyst retained its activity over at least five consecutive cycles without metal leaching or structural degradation. This material demonstrated a broad substrate scope, affording over 20 functionalized benzimidazoles in high yields. Half-gram-scale syntheses of commercial Diabazole and Fuberidazole further validated the scalability of this approach.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Electrophilic Aromatic Substitution: Nitration of Benzene
Diazonium Group Substitution with Halogens and Cyanide: Sandmeyer and Schiemann Reactions
Benzene to 1,4-Cyclohexadiene: Birch Reduction Mechanism
Reduction of Benzene to Cyclohexane: Catalytic Hydrogenation
Nucleophilic Aromatic Substitution of Aryldiazonium Salts: Aromatic SN1
In the Sandmeyer reaction, for example, the diazonio group is replaced by a chloro, bromo,...
Preparation of Amines: Reduction of Oximes and Nitro Compounds
Though catalytic hydrogenation can reduce nitrobenzenes, the reduction is nonselective in the presence of other functional groups. For instance, if nitrobenzene contains an aldehyde group,...

