High-temperature shock-resistant zeolite-confined Ru subnanometric species boosts highly catalytic oxidation of dichloromethane

It is a great challenge to stabilize metal species and regulate their catalytic properties at the atomic level. Herein, we reported the Ru subnanometric species encapsulated inside 5-membered rings of ZSM-5 (Ru@Z-2Al). It achieved 90% oxidation of dichloromethane at 350 °C with almost no by-product formation compared with Ru@Z-0Al. The results indicated that the Al sites existed in the zeolite skeleton provided Brønsted acid sites, which promoted the adsorption and activation of dichloromethane and the extraction of chlorine species. Meanwhile, the electronic structure of Ru species was regulated by Ru−O−Al site, enhancing the the oxygen activation capacity of the catalyst and the deep oxidation of dichloromethane. Notably, the Ru@Z-2Al remained stable in harsh environments (at 800 ℃ with 10 vol.% H2O) due to the double confinement effect of zeolite channels and skeleton Al, which had excellent practical application prospects. Therefore, this study provides insights for designing the high-performance environmental catalytic materials.