Ruthenium-C60 compounds: properties and catalytic potential

Ruthenium-C60 compounds were prepared by reaction of Ru3(CO)12 with C60 in refluxing toluene. The resulting compounds were found to be insoluble air-stable solids which consist of an amorphous matrix embedding small ruthenium metal particles of an average size of 2–5 nm. Furthermore, the presence of unreacted C60, small amounts of toluene and a residual CO-ligand sphere in ruthenium-C60 was found. The catalytic activity of ruthenium-C60 compounds at different temperatures was shown in prototype reactions like the liquid-phase hydrogenation of cyclohexene at 300 K or the hydrogenation of CO in the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis at 500 K.