Gallium‐Based Eutectic Alloys as Liquid Electron Donors to Ruthenium Single‐Atom Catalysts for Selective Hydrogenation of Vanillin
Tuning the catalytic pathways of atomically dispersed single-atom catalysts (SAC) has emerged as an effective strategy to optimize their overall catalytic activity. Herein, we present Ru<sub>1</sub>@m-tube, a hollow carbon nitride-supported Ru SAC, coated with eutectic galinstan (GaInSn), as a model catalyst, we demonstrate a performance inversion in vanillin conversion. Vanillin, as a biomass-derived compound with industrial relevance, presents challenges in catalytic hydrogenation, making it an ideal model reaction to test and compare the catalyst's selectivity and efficiency. The as-obtained Ru<sub>1</sub>@m-tube(GaInSn) achieved nearly 100% vanillin conversion within 5 h and exhibited an impressive 93.8% selectivity for vanillyl alcohol. Electron spillover from gallium-based eutectic alloys to highly diluted ruthenium sites enhances the desorption of vanillyl alcohol, resulting in an exceptional performance shift between hydrogenation and hydrodeoxygenation. Our findings not only offer a novel approach for modulating SAC performance via liquid-metal interfaces but also expand the understanding of promoter screening for various challenging reactions.
Authors
- Huang Zhou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-9202-5349)
- Jun Luo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5084-2087)
- Lin Gu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7504-031X)
- Jianuo Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9172-3375)
- Jun Tang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5038-2241)
- Yuen Shing Wu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9524-2843)
- Lirong Zheng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0888-6769)
- Xiaorong Zhu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8007-3047)
- Xiaoming Mou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-2030-7304)
- Yafei Zhao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5098-7753)
- Yue Lin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5333-511X)
- Jia Tao Song (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0122-8360)
- Juncai Dong (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8860-093X)
- Wenyu Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6963-5173)
- Yafei Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2587-820X)
- Weixin Huang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5025-3124)
- Tao Yao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8699-8294)
- Huiling Zheng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8347-3724)
- Shiqiang Wei (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4103-1335)
- Yong Guan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7596-3114)
Institutions
- University of Science and Technology of China (CN)
- Tianjin University of Technology (CN)
- Qingdao University of Science and Technology (CN)
- Nanjing Normal University (CN)
- Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
- Institute of High Energy Physics (CN)
- National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory (CN)
- Institute of Physics (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Angewandte Chemie International Edition
- Published
- 2025-03-19
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202505073
- Citations
- 5
- Primary Topic
- Catalysis for Biomass Conversion
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 3.37