Structuring Ru nanoparticles on magnetic nitrogen doped carbon induces excellent photocatalytic activity for oxidation of alcohols under visible light

Ruthenium (Ru) nanoparticles (NPs) are supported on nitrogen-doped carbon (N-C) derived from bimetallic zeolitic imidazolate framework (BMZIF) for the first time. Ru@N-C is prepared by the direct carbonization of the Ru3+ encapsulated inside BMZIF. The photocatalytic activity of the carbonized material was evaluated by the selective oxidation of benzyl alcohol to benzaldehyde under visible-light irradiation. The effect of the weight ratio of Ru/BMZIF was studied on photocatalytic activity. Ru@N-C nanohybrids with 1% and 5% weight ratio show low photocatalytic activity in the oxidation of benzyl alcohol, while the weight ratio 2.5% displays the high photocatalytic activity. Additionally, to investigate the effect of the source of N-C in photocatalytic activities, the ZIF-8 and ZIF-67 were tested and the Ru@N-C nanohybrids derived from either Ru@ZIF-67 or Ru@ ZIF-8 exhibit lower photocatalytic activity. The photocatalytic activity of Ru@N-C is higher than those of the N-C photocatalysts loaded with different noble metals, such as Ag, Au and Pd. The Ru-2.5%@N-C nanohybrid is highly stable and are reusable up to five cycles without losing its photocatalytic activity in the oxidation of alcohols.