The research of dehydrogenation catalyst for organic hydrides is the key to the cycle of reversible hydrogen storage technology in organic hydrides. The mechanisms of dehydrogenation reaction of several different organic hydrides in the cycle process of hydrogen storage are analyzed. In order to predict the dehydrogenation performance of different active components, the design of catalyst by means of combining density functional theory (DFT) with experiment examples is investigated. And then the development of dehydrogenation catalyst for organic hydrides was reviewed from active components of the catalyst, the choices of corresponding support, preparation methods, structure-activity relationship and other aspects. The performance of dehydrogenation using different mono-metal and bimetallic alloy catalysts was discussed; the changes in the catalyst structure and the catalytic properties influenced by different carriers and modification of the carriers were compared; the relationship between preparation methods and internal structure-activity of catalysts was investigated. It is proposed that in order to get the dehydrogenation catalyst with good catalytic activity, the rational design of organic hydrides dehydrogenation catalyst for the reversible hydrogen storage should be the integration of DFT theoretical prediction, surface science experiments and advanced catalyst synthesis methods.

Key words: organic hydrides, dehydrogenation, bimetallic catalysts, support, preparation