Both yield and optical selectivity of L-alaninol were improved in liquid-phase hydrogenation of L-Alanine by adding Pd to Ru/C catalyst. The prepared catalysts were characterized by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS)

X-ray diffraction (XRD)

transmission electron microscopy (TEM)

and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The results showed that RuPd species were dispersed evenly as small particles on active carbon support and addition of Pd atoms significantly improved electronic properties of Ru. Controlling atomic ratio of Ru to Pd could change existence status of RuPd species and hence affect yield and optical selectivity of L-alaninol. In the condition of 0.9 mol·L-1 L-Alanine

0.69 mol·L-1 phosphoric acid

20% catalyst to reactant

95℃ temperature

and 4.0 MPa pressure

the catalyst with 3:1 atomic ratio of Ru to Pd showed the best performance which both yield and optical selectivity of L-alaninol reached to 99.7%. The catalyst can be recycled and reused for 20 times with no change in catalytic performance.