Recyclable Covalent Triazine Framework-based Ru Catalyst for Transfer Hydrogenation of Carbonyl Compounds in Water

A heterogeneous Ru catalyst, [(bpy-CTF)-RuCl3], which is synthesized by the coordinative immobilization of RuCl3 center dot xH(2)O on a bipyridyl-functionalized covalent triazine framework (bpy-CTF), is an efficient catalyst for the transfer hydrogenation (TH) of various carbonyl compounds into alcohols in water using HCOONa as a benign reducing agent. The as-prepared heterogeneous catalyst exhibits a very high turnover number (similar to 990) and an initial turnover frequency (44.8 h(-1)) as well as excellent recyclability, which makes it a greener catalyst for industrial applications in TH.