Introduction Based on the structural--electronic structure of MOFs, it can be assumed that these materials can be unique macromolecular adsorbents that can form intermediates with organic reagents and then turn them into the final products of chemical transformations.

Methods PXRD, IR-spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscopy, low-temperature nitrogen adsorption, and catalytic units were used in this study.

Results The metal--organic framework structures of Cu-MOF and Gd-MOF were synthesized using nitrates of metals and benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxylic acid, an organic ligand. Replacing copper ions with gadolinium ions in MOFs increases the efficiency of the process. The conversion of propane at 400°C increases to 8.0 % for the Cu-MOF catalyst and to 20% for the Gd-MOF catalyst. At this temperature, there is no non-catalytic reaction. Synthesized metal--organic frameworks are porous materials with a specific surface area of 319 m²/g for Cu-MOF and 551 m²/g for Gd-MOF. The surface morphology of synthesized materials was studied using SEM. The resulting particles have the shape of an octahedron.

Conclusions These materials have demonstrated high catalytic activity in the process of propane dehydrogenation at a temperature of 400°C. Propane conversion using Gd-MOF increased to 20.0 %, and selectivity for light olefins (ethylene and propylene) increased to 71.0 %, while when using Cu-MOF, propane conversion increased to 8.0 %, and light olefin selectivity by 69.0 %. For Gd-MOF, there was no decrease in the efficiency of its operation due to the deposition of amorphous carbon on the surface of the catalyst. This result allows us to predict the significant service life of this catalyst.