Carbon-supported ruthenium catalysts prepared by a coordination strategy for acetylene hydrochlorination

The development of efficient and stable non-mercury catalysts for the chlor-alkali industry is desirable but remains a great challenge. Herein, we design a series of ruthenium catalysts for acetylene hydrochlorination by regulating the electronic structure of ruthenium ions through coordination with various ligands (thiourea, phenanthroline, and L–lactic). The turnover frequencies (TOFs) and apparent activation energies for the acetylene hydrochlorination have a linear relationship with the binding energy of Ru3+ in the ruthenium catalysts. The synergetic effect of the ruthenium ion and ligands plays an important role in acetylene hydrochlorination. The Ru–Thi/AC catalyst with thiourea as the ligand shows the highest TOF and stability in acetylene hydrochlorination. The present study provides a rational method to regulate the electronic structure of supported metal catalysts with high catalytic performance exhibited by the carbon-supported heterogeneous catalysts.