Abstract Ruthenium–carbon composite (Ru–XC) catalysts prepared by a single-step surfactant-templating method were pre-graphitized at different temperature (X= 200, 250, 300, 350, and 400 C), and they were applied to the liquid-phase hydrogenation of succinic acid to tetrahydrofuran (THF). The effect of pre-graphitization temperature on the catalytic performance of Ru–XC catalysts (X= 200, 250, 300, 350, and 400 C) was investigated. It ...