Fully Exposed Cu Clusters with Ru Single Atoms Synergy for High-Performance Acetylene Semihydrogenation

• DOI: 10.1021/jacs.5c03713
• Publication Date: 2025-05-31T13:23:09Z
• Authors: Chengquan Sui; Wanni Dong; Maolin Wang; Fei Huang; Shengling Xiang; Hui Wang; Jiawei Chen; Chengyu Li; Mi Peng; Ning Wang; Geng Sun; Ding Ma; Hongyang Liu
• Keywords: Acetylene

Semihydrogenation of acetylene is an essential process in the ethylene industry for removing impurities and ensuring production polymer-grade ethylene. Atomically dispersed Cu catalysts have attracted significant attention due to their cost-effectiveness catalytic potential. However, inherently weak hydrogen dissociation ability results low activity, necessitating elevated reaction temperatures, which limit its practical applicability. To overcome this limitation, we design a Ru single-atom-decorated, fully exposed cluster catalyst (Ru1Cun/SiO2) that exhibits outstanding performance semihydrogenation acetylene, achieving 100% conversion with 98% selectivity at 170 °C. High-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy (HAADF-STEM), X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), photoelectron (XPS) confirm atomic dispersion structural evolution clusters. H2-D2 exchange temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) experiments reveal modification significantly enhances while tuning adsorption. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations further demonstrate single atoms nanoclusters create synergistic interface markedly promotes activation lowers energy barrier rate-determining step. This study provides fundamental insights into rational atomically bimetallic offers new strategy efficient selective hydrogenation.