ABSTRACT Lignin is considered an excellent alternative to fossil energy sources, with hydrogenation offering advantages such as high feedstock utilization and high‐value products. However, this method often suffers from harsh reaction conditions and high solvent costs. This study combines Ru‐inserted Keggin‐type polyoxometalates via ion exchange with highly stable phosphazene compounds to prepare a heterogeneous catalyst featuring a trinuclear Ru structure. The catalyst demonstrates excellent performance in the hydrodepolymerization of lignin. Using water as a green solvent under mild reaction conditions, it achieves efficient conversion of various lignin model compounds within 2 h while maintaining high product selectivity. Furthermore, the catalyst exhibits robust structural stability, with no significant changes observed in its active components or morphology after 10 reaction cycles. In particular, the catalyst exhibits good activity toward native lignin. Mechanistic studies indicate that H 2 reduces Ru 3+ to the active center Ru 2+ in the reaction, where it dissociates to form Ru─H. Meanwhile, H 2 O acts as a proton transfer agent and hydrogen source for the reaction, accelerating the interaction between H + and the substrate. The synergistic effect of both facilitates the efficient progression of the reaction.
陈启元 et al. (Fri,) studied this question.