Ru-nanoparticle deposition on naturally available clay and rice husk biomass materials—Benzenehydrogenation catalysis and synthetic strategies for green catalyst development

Abstract

We demonstrate the rapid synthesis of ruthenium nanoparticle supported on naturally available isolated soil clay and ceria-modified rice husk silica biomass. Ruthenium nanoparticle deposition on nanoclay (clay particles of <100 nm) and on rice husk silica was performed via a high pressure hydrogenation process. A ruthenium organometallic compound was used as a precursor for ruthenium nanoparticle formation. The physico-chemical characteristics of the synthesized materials were analyzed by XRD, FT-IR, SEM-EDX and TEM analysis. The successful incorporation of ruthenium nanoparticle on nanoclay (Ru/Nanoclay-A) and on ceria-modified rice husk silica (Ru/Ce-RHS-B) was confirmed by XRD and FT-IR analysis. Ruthenium deposition on ceira-modified rice husk silica catalyst (Ru-Ce/RHS-C) has also been synthesized and characterized for a comparison study. The spherical shaped particles were observed between 60–80 nm for Ru/Nanoclay-A. However Ru/Ce-RHS-B and Ru-Ce/RHS-C material derived from biomass showed an aggregated morphology. Benzene hydrogenation under high pressure conditions has been studied in presence of the aforementioned three types of catalysts, Ru/Nanoclay-A, Ru/Ce-RHS-B and Ru-Ce/RHS-C. The Ru/Ce-RHS-B catalyst showed maximum conversion of 85% with selectivity of 72% towards cyclohexene formation, compared with other catalysts.