Intrazeolite ruthenium(0) nanoclusters: a superb catalyst for the hydrogenation of benzene and the hydrolysis of sodium borohydride.

The use of microporous materials with ordered porous structures as the hosts to encapsulate metal nanoclusters has attracted particular interest in catalysis because the pore size restriction could limit the growth of nanoclusters and lead to an increase in the percentage of the catalytically active surface atoms. This letter reports the preparation of ruthenium(0) nanoclusters stabilized by the framework of Zeolite-Y by using a simple, easy, efficient method and their superb catalytic activities in two important reactions: the hydrogenation of arenes (benzene, toluene, o-xylene, mesitylene) and the hydrolysis of sodium borohydride, all at room temperature. Particularly, the intrazeolite ruthenium(0) nanoclusters exhibit unprecedented catalytic activity in the hydrogenation of neat benzene at 22.0 +/- 0.1 degrees C and 40 +/- 1 psig H2 with a record TOF of 1040 mol benzene/mol Ru . h.