Synergistically Catalytic Hydrochlorination of Acetylene over the Highly Dispersed Ru Active Species Embedded in P-Containing Ionic Liquids

With the objective of achieving long-term sustainable development of an effective approach for acetylene hydrochlorination, green and efficient mercury-free catalysts are urgently needed. Based on the coordination or interaction between heteroatoms and metal ions, catalysts with carbon-supported ruthenium active species embedded in ionic liquids (Ru-ILx/AC) were prepared with structural phosphorus-containing ILs. The experimental results showed that Ru species were embedded in ILs and the interaction between the central Ru ions and ILs guaranteed the successful anchoring and high dispersion of active species on the host. The incorporation of ILs with alkyl branched chains having strong electron-donating ability augmented the relative content of the active Run+ species, which synergistically enhanced the adsorption and activation ability of the catalysts toward both the HCl and C2H2 reactants. This resulted in a significant improvement in the catalytic activity, with a 386% relative increment over the 1Ru-5IL5/AC catalyst with respect to its counterpart. Furthermore, the additives discouraged the coke deposition and Ru species agglomeration and stabilized the Ru species in a high-valent state, thus significantly slowing down the deactivation of the catalyst. The 1Ru-5IL5/AC catalyst exhibited an impressive stability and provides an important reference for potential industrial application.