Ru‐P Nanoalloy from Elemental Phosphorus as P‐Source

Overview & Synopsis

Binary ruthenium-phosphorus nanoparticles (NPs) with different Ru/P ratio were prepared in mild conditions using white phosphorus (P4) as phosphorus source. Accurate study of both their morphology and structure at the atomic level by TEM and HAADF-STEM, respectively, showed that Ru2P and RuP have a narrow size distribution (ca. 3.3 nm) and are lacking an ordered ruthenium phosphide lattice. 31 P Solid State NMR highlighted the existence of three different phosphorus species consistently with the lack of a metal phosphide lattice and finally XPS revealed that the true nature of these nanoparticles can be better described as a ruthenium-phosphorus alloy. As a benchmark test, the selective hydrogenation of nitroarenes to primary aromatic amines was studied and evidenced how the P-alloying imparts a surface modification resulting in a higher catalytic activity and excellent chemoselectivity of Ru2P in comparison to Ru(0) and RuP.