Chemoselective hydrogenation of heteroarenes and arenes by Pd–Ru–PVP under mild conditions

Monometallic (Pd, Ru or Rh) and bimetallic (Pd0.5-Ru0.5) alloy NPs catalysts were examined for the hydrogenation of quinoline. Pd-Ru alloy catalyst showed superior catalytic activity to the traditional Rh catalyst. The characterization of Pd0.5-Ru0.5 catalysts, HAADF-EDX mapping and XPS analysis suggested that the alloy state of PdRu catalysts remained unchanged in the recovered catalyst. Furthermore, the catalyst was highly selective for the hydrogenation of different arenes.