Abstract: A highly dispersed montmorillonite-supported Ru catalyst (Ru/MMT) was prepared by the ion-exchange method and characterized by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, temperature-programmed reduction, and high resolution transmission electron microscopy. The results showed that Ru was well dispersed on the montmorillonite interlayers, and the average size of Ru particles was about 2 nm. The catalyst exhibited high activity in the hydrogenation of quinoline under the mild reaction conditions (60 °C, 2 MPa H2, and H2O as solvent). The conversion of quinoline was 99.2% and the selectivity for 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinoline was 96.4%. When the temperature and hydrogen pressure were increased to 140 °C and 3 MPa, respectively, quinoline could be directly hydrogenated to decahydroquinoline with the selectivity up to 98.1%.

Key words: montmorillonite, ruthenium, heterogeneous catalysis, quinoline, hydrogenation, 1, 2, 3, 4-tetrahydroquinoline, decahydroquinoline