Novel bimetallic Pd-Mn/Al₂O₃ catalysts are designed by the decomposition of cyclopentadienylmanganese tricarbonyl (cymantrene) on reduced Pd/Al₂O₃ in an H₂ atmosphere. The peculiarities of cymantrene decomposition on palladium and, thus, the formation of bimetallic Pd-Mn catalysts are studied. The catalysts are characterized by N₂ adsorption, H₂ pulse chemisorption, temperature-programmed desorption of hydrogen (TPD-H₂), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS). The modified catalysts show the changed hydrogen chemisorption properties and the absence of weakly bonded hydrogen. Using an organomanganese precursor provides an uniform Mn distribution on the catalyst surface. Tested in hydrogenation of acetylene, the catalysts show both higher activity and selectivity to ethylene (20% higher) compared to the non-modified Pd/Al₂O₃ catalyst. The influence of the addition of Mn and temperature treatment on catalyst performance is studied. The optimal Mn content and treatment temperature are found. It is established that modification with Mn changes the route of acetylene hydrogenation from a consecutive scheme for Pd/Al₂O₃ to parallel one for the Pd-Mn samples. The reaction rate shows zero overall order by reagents for all tested catalysts.

Thermodynamic features of thermal and oxidative dehydrogenation of light alkanes, in particular, the dependence of the propane conversion of the temperature, pressure, and CO₂ : propane ratio, are considered. Published data on the use of metal and oxide catalysts for these processes are summarized, and the oxidative dehydrogenation catalysts ensuring the best combination of conversion and selectivity, namely, chromium oxides on mesoporous supports, are revealed. The existing industrial dehydrogenation technologies are discussed.

The oxidative dehydrogenation of alkanes is a prospective method for olefins production. CO₂-assisted propane dehydrogenation over metal oxide catalysts provides an opportunity to increase propylene production with collateral CO₂ utilization. We prepared the chromia catalysts on various mesoporous aluminosilicate supports, such as halloysite nanotubes, nanostructured core/shell composites of MCM-41/halloysite (halloysite nanotubes for the core; silica of MCM-41-type for the shell), and MCM-41@halloysite (silica of MCM-41-type for the core; halloysite nanotubes for the shell). The catalysts have been characterized by X-ray fluorescence analysis, low-temperature nitrogen adsorption, X-ray diffraction, temperature-programmed reduction, temperature-programmed desorption of ammonia, transmission electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis. The catalysts’ performance in carbon-dioxide-assisted propane dehydrogenation has been estimated in a fixed-bed reactor at atmospheric pressure. The most stable catalyst is Cr/halloysite, having the lowest activity and the largest pore diameter. The catalyst, Cr/MCM-41/HNT, shows the best catalytic performance: having the highest conversion (19–88%), selectivity (83–30%), and space–time yield (4.3–7.1 mol C₃H₆/kg catalyst/h) at the temperature range of 550–700 °C. The highest space–time yield could be related to the uniform distribution of the chromia particles over the large surface area and narrow pore size distribution of 2–4 nm provided by the MCM-41-type silica and transport channels of 12–15 nm from the halloysite nanotubes.

A methanol conversion catalyst based on natural aluminosilicate nanotubes and H–ZSM-5 zeolite was synthesized. Its textural, structural, and acid properties were studied by low-temperature nitrogen adsorption–desorption, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction analysis, and temperature-programmed ammonia desorption. The influence exerted on the methanol conversion and product distribution by the reaction temperature (380–460°С), pressure (0.1–0.5 MPa), and feed space velocity (0.5–1 h^–1) was studied. The catalyst based on halloysite aluminosilicate nanotubes showed high selectivity in formation of both lower olefins and aromatic hydrocarbons.

Silanized aluminosilicate halloysite nanotubes were investigated as a support for Pd–Ag catalysts. The samples were characterized by low-temperature nitrogen adsorption, ammonia temperature-programmed desorption, and transmission electron microscopy, and tested in selective hydrogenation of acetylene. The Pd–Ag/halloysite catalysts synthesized from [Pd(NH₃)₄]Cl₂ as a palladium precursor proved to be the most selective towards ethylene: the selectivity reached about 85% at 10–55% acetylene conversion.