Noble-metal-containing nanoporous carbon synthesized within the interlayer space of montmorillonite and its catalytic property Original Research Article

We synthesized nanoporous carbon containing noble metal particles via the co-intercalation of noble metal precursors and sucrose into montmorillonite (mont) and the subsequent sulfuric acid-catalyzed carbonization. A TEM image of the Ru-containing porous carbon material (Ru-C/mont) showed Ru particles of uniform particle sizes (1–2 nm). Residual sulfur species were also observed in Ru-C/mont even after heating in N2 flow at 1073 K. The FT-IR spectra of Ru-C/mont showed peaks corresponding to the asymmetric Sdouble bond; length as m-dashO stretching mode of single bondSO3− as well as to the asymmetric and symmetric stretching modes of Sisingle bondOsingle bondAl. single bondSO3− and Sisingle bondOsingle bondAl acted as acid sites. The catalytic activity of Ru-C/mont in cyclopentene hydration was investigated. Cyclopentene hydration proceeded using C/mont as catalyst even without Ru incorporation. However, the catalytic activity of the synthesized carbon material increased in the presence of Ru. The cyclopentanol yield was higher using Ru-C/mont than using H-ZSM-5 or Nb2O5·nH2O as a catalyst. Thus, the coexistence of acid sites and Ru plays a key role in cyclopentanol formation.