Ruthenium (1 wt%) catalysts supported on alumina doped with alkaline (Na and K) and alkaline earth metals (Ba, Ca, and Mg) of different concentrations (1, 5, and 10 wt%) were tested in the dry reforming of methane. All catalysts were prepared by the successive impregnation method. Supports were characterized by X-ray diffraction, BET surface area, temperature-programmed desorption of CO_2, and 2-propanol dehydration. Additionally, catalysts were characterized by temperature-programmed reduction (TPR), temperature-programmed oxidation (TPO), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Stability tests to study coke deposition were performed using long-time dry reforming reactions. All the catalysts showed good catalytic activity, and activity falls were never detected. Ru metallic phase seemed to be resistant to coke formation even though its particles are sintered during a long-term reaction.

The catalytic performance of Pt, PtSn and PtGe supported on γ-Al₂O₃ (γ-A) deposited by dipcoating of spheres of α-Al₂O₃ (α-A) was studied in the n-decane dehydrogenation. The effect of Sn and Ge addition to Pt on the activity and selectivity was analyzed. The catalytic characterization was carried out using cyclohexane dehydrogenation (CHD), cyclopentane hydrogenolysis (CPH), temperature-programmed reduction (TPR), hydrogen chemisorption, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and scanning electronic microscopy (SEM). Pt(0.5)Sn/γ-A/α-A catalyst had the best catalytic performance and showed a low electronic interaction between the metals, with a surface segregation of Sn and the presence of oxidized Sn stabilized on the support. PtGe catalysts presented strong interactions with probable alloy formation. The catalytic performance of these catalysts is comparable to that reported in the patents.