We synthesized nanoporous carbon containing noble metal particles via the co-intercalation of noble metal precursors and sucrose into montmorillonite (mont) and the subsequent sulfuric acid-catalyzed carbonization. A TEM image of the Ru-containing porous carbon material (Ru-C/mont) showed Ru particles of uniform particle sizes (1-2 nm). Residual sulfur species were also observed in Ru-C/mont even after heating in N-2 flow at 1073 K. The FT-IR spectra of Ru-C/mont showed peaks corresponding to the asymmetric S=O stretching mode of -SO3- as Well as to the asymmetric and symmetric stretching modes of Si-O-Al. -SO3- and Si-O-Al acted as acid sites. The catalytic activity of Ru-C/mont in cyclopentene hydration was investigated. Cyclopentene hydration proceeded using C/mont as catalyst even without Ru incorporation. However, the catalytic activity of the synthesized carbon material increased in the presence of Ru. The cyclopentanol yield was higher using Ru-C/montthan using H-ZSM-5 or Nb2O5 center dot nH(2)O as a catalyst. Thus, the coexistence of acid sites and Ru plays a key role in cyclopentanol formation. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.