Catalytic dehydrogenation for hydrogen production controlled by metal-supported heterogeneous catalysts

Dehydrogenation is a chemical reaction that produces value-added hydrogen-deficient chemical compounds with hydrogen molecules that can be ubiquitously used in chemical industries. Due to the bond-breaking process, dehydrogenation is usually endothermic, and it requires high energy input for achieving the sufficient reaction performance. Therefore, catalysts play an important role in lowering the activation barrier, and thereby enhancing the activity and reaction rate, and they also govern the product selectivity via control of the reaction pathway on the catalyst surface. The metal–support interaction (MSI) is a unique interaction occurring at the interface of metal nanoparticles and metal oxide supports in the solid-phase heterogeneous catalysts, which changes the electronic properties of the catalyst surface and hence the catalytic process. The control of MSI in the design of heterogeneous catalysts provided many opportunities for developing advanced catalysts having better catalytic performance. Herein, our comprehensive review explores the significant impact of MSI on catalyst design, emphasizing enhanced activity, superior product selectivity, and prolonged catalyst lifetime in dehydrogenation reactions. The discussion is structured around diverse perhydro molecules, highlighting the versatile applicability of MSI in tailoring catalysts for specific dehydrogenation processes.