RT journal article
T1 Single-Atom and Sub-Nano Ruthenium Cluster Catalysts—Application to Biomass Upgrading into Biofuel Additive
A1 Tabet-Zatla, Chaima Z.
A1 Bedrane, Sumeya
A1 Calvino Gámez, José Juan
A1 Cauqui López, Miguel Ángel
A1 Dergal, Fayçal
A1 Ziani-Cherif, Chewki
A1 Hernández Garrido, Juan Carlos
A2 Ciencia de los Materiales e Ingeniería Metalúrgica y Química Inorgánica
K1 single atom
K1 sub-nano
K1 synthesis route
K1 furfural
K1 biomass upgrading
K1 2,2′-difurfurylether
K1 no sintering
AB Sub-nano metal clusters have important physicochemical features that lead toa wide range of applications. Herein, we point out an unfailing reproducible protocol tosynthesize ruthenium single-atom catalysts and ultra-small clusters supported on various silica–alumina mixed oxides. The catalysts were synthesized via a dendrimer-free,sonication-assisted route, with ruthenium loadings up to 2 wt%. Raman spectroscopymapping revealed a wide coverage of the materials’ surfaces by ruthenium, while HAADFSTEM evidenced that 100% of the ruthenium was at the sub-nano scale, with up to 74%of the single atoms and metal clusters having an average size between 0.3 and 0.7 nm,independently of the support or the metal’s loading. These materials exhibited highlyselective size-dependent catalytic performances in upgrading biomass-derived furfuralinto transportation biofuel additive 2,2′-difurfurylether, with turnover frequencies up to1148 h−1. Ruthenium single atoms and sub-nano clusters showed an exceptional resistanceto sintering, with a size variation of ±0.1 nm before and after reaction, and no metalleaching was observed.
PB MDPI
SN 2073-4344
YR 2025
FD 2025-05-03
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10498/37975
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10498/37975
LA eng
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Cádiz
RD 11-nov-2026