A series of Mg/Zr/Sr based mixed oxide catalysts with varying molar ratios were prepared by a co-precipitation method. The X-ray diffraction and temperature programmed desorption of CO₂ were used to derive the characteristics of the catalysts. These catalysts were evaluated for the synthesis of glycerol carbonate by the transesterification of glycerol with dimethyl carbonate. The transesterification activity depended on the molar ratio of the Mg/Zr/Sr and the pre-treatment temperature of the catalysts. The catalysts basicity was influenced by the molar ratio of the mixed oxides and calcinations temperature. The catalyst with a Mg/Zr/Sr molar ratio of 3 : 1 : 1, calcined at 650 °C, showed the highest glycerol conversion and selectivity to glycerol carbonate. During this reaction, the formation of glycidol by the decarbonylation of glycerol carbonate was observed over the catalysts with a high basic strength. The reaction parameters also influence the glycerol conversion and selectivity to glycerol carbonate.

Liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHC) are interesting hydrogen vectors which can exploit existing infrastructure. Specifically, N-heterocyclic compounds are attractive due to lower dehydrogenation enthalpy than homocyclic ones and demand a viable palladium catalyst to guarantee high dehydrogenation activity at low temperatures and stability in recycle runs. Here, we employ one-pot solvent deficient precipitation yielding a mesoporous palladium-alumina. The prepared catalyst system offers higher hydrogen release capability by 20% than conventional palladium/γ-Al₂O₃ in the dehydrogenation of four different N-heterocyclic compounds at or below 250 °C. Futhermore, it shows negligible activity loss up to five consecutive runs for perhydro 2-(n-methylbenzyl)pyridine and perhydro 2-methylindole. Such dehydrogenation performance is caused by the solvent deficient environment that restricts palladium mobility by contiguous alumina particles and produces well-dispersed palladium phase with a higher density of (111) plane. Therefore, the reported synthesis method may contribute to the production of innovative dehydrogenation catalysts for LOHC compounds.

Oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane to ethylene was investigated on Al₂O₃, ZrO₂ and Al₂O₃–ZrO₂ mixed oxide supported Cr₂O₃ catalysts taking O₂ and CO₂ as oxidants. The catalysts were characterized by nitrogen adsorption, X-ray diffraction, temperature-programmed reduction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The catalytic activity depended on the chromium species formed on the surface. However, the selectivity to ethylene was influenced by the oxidizing agent (O₂ or CO₂). Temperature-programmed desorption of ethylene was employed to confirm the role of oxidant in deciding ethylene selectivity.

La–Ce–Co mixed oxide derived Co catalysts were prepared by a co-precipitation method varying the molar ratio of Ce/La in the range of 0.1–0.9, but keeping the Co content constant (1 mol). The physico-chemical properties of the samples were investigated by Atomic Absorption Spectrometer (AAS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), laser Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), UV-diffused reflectance spectroscopy, BET surface area, hydrogen chemisorption and temperature programmed reduction techniques. These catalysts, after reduction, were evaluated for glycerol steam reforming in the temperature range of 500–700 °C and at atmospheric pressure. The characterization results of the catalysts after reduction revealed the collapse of the perovskite structure and dispersion of Co-metal on the mixed oxide (La₂O₃–CeO₂) support. The possibility for tuning the dispersion of the Co metal to derive maximum activity and minimum coke formation was examined. The catalyst derived from the mixed oxide, La_0.7Ce_0.3CoO₃, exhibited the best catalytic activity at 700 °C with complete conversion of glycerol and a 68% hydrogen yield. The active cobalt area contributes a major part of the BET surface area of the reduced catalysts, and this is correlated well with the turnover frequency (TOF). The high dispersion with the formation of Co particles of 4–5 nm size, helped in achieving low coke formation.