Iridium- and Platinum-Free Ring Opening of Indan

A 3- and 2-fold increase in selectivities toward 2-ethyltoluene and n-propylbenzene, respectively, in indan ring opening (RO) was achieved by introducing palladium to the ruthenium catalyst. The product selectivities for the Ru–Pd system with the 4:1 molar ratio were the same as those for monometallic iridium, known for its outstanding single cleavage selectivity; the lights formation was suppressed as compared with the monometallic platinum catalyst. A further increase in the Pd amount did not result in the selectivity improvement and brought down the activity to the low level of Pd. The bimetallic catalysts were synthesized in the presence of poly-(vinylpyrrolidone). The bimetallic systems revealed sintering resistance up to 400 °C, as compared with their monoforms. The indan RO activity was maximized after precalcination at 200 °C. The suggested nanoparticles' bimetallicity was consistent with the results of CO-TPD, CO–DRIFTS, thermal stability tests, and a chemical probe reaction (olefin hydrogenation, in which only Pd is active). The Pd–Ru system is envisioned as a viable alternative to monometallic Ir for RO.