Construction of Ru single-atom catalyst with abundant Ru-N active domains for highly efficient acetylene hydrochlorination

Single-atom catalysts (SACs) have sparked gigantic attention due to their high activity, atomic utilization, and unique metal–host coordination environment. A hard-template method with Lewis acid modification strategy was adopted to obtain mesoporous N-doped carbon nanospheres as the host to prepare a Ru SAC for acetylene hydrochlorination. The single site scattered Ru-N-C active structure constructed by the interaction between the metal–support and the heteroatom-rich mesoporous g-NC nanosphere material provides a rich defect structure that promotes the mass transfer of reactants and products. Furthermore, the N-doped support anchors, disperses and modulates the catalytic active domains, stabilizing their active state and enhancing the adsorption and activation of initial reactants. As a result, the obtained Ru SAC possesses excellent catalytic properties and lasting life in a 500-h test, which render it highly promising for industrial applications. Moreover, the clarified catalytic mechanism provides a reference for the preparation of other SACs.