This review focuses on the importance of coupling of catalytic reactions which involves dehydrogenation and hydrogenation simultaneously and the study of catalytic materials that are designed, adopted and/or modified for these reactions. The special features of these reactions are minimization of H₂ utilization and reduction in production cost. Structural and textural properties also play a decisive role in this kind of coupled reactions. This particular review although not comprehensive discusses the significant progress made in the area of coupled reactions and also helps future researchers or engineers to find out the improvements required in areas such as advancements in catalytic material preparation, design of the new reactors and the application of new technologies.

Porous chromium terephthalate MIL-101 (Cr-MIL-101) has been prepared by direct method under hydrothermal conditions and characterized using X-ray diffraction, N₂ sorption, TGA and FT-IR. The nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherm shows that the Cr-MIL-101 possesses BET specific surface area of 2563 m²/g. Catalytic performance of Cr-MIL-101 in the dehydration of 1,4-butanediol and 1-phenylethanol is assessed under vapour phase conditions in the temperature range of 513-533 K and time on stream (TOS) at 513 K. Cr-MIL-101 demonstrates superior catalytic activity with conversion of 95% of 1-phenylethanol. Moreover, high surface area and nanocages with coordinated unsaturated sites of Cr-MIL-101 have allowed us to attain higher dehydrated products selectivity than Cr-supported activated carbon (Cr/AC), amberlyst-15 and HZSM-5 catalysts.