Dehydrogenation method and nonacidic multimetallic catalytic composite for use therein

A nonacidic catalytic composite comprising a porous carrier material containing, on an elemental basis, about 0.01 to about 2 wt. % platinum group metal, about 0.1 to about 5 wt. % cobalt, about 0.1 to about 5 wt. % alkali metal or alkaline earth metal, and about 0.01 to about 5 wt. % tin;

• wherein the platinum group metal, catalytically available cobalt, tin and alkali metal or alkaline earth metal are uniformly dispersed througout the porous carrier material;
• wherein the average crystalite size of the tin and catalytically available cobalt is less than 100 Angstroms in maximum dimension;
• wherein substantially all of the platinum group metal is present in the elemental metallic state;
• wherein substantially all of the catalytically available cobalt is present in the elemental metallic state or in a state which is reducible to the elemental metallic state under dehydrogenation conditions or in a mixture of these states;
• and wherein substantially all of the tin and alkali metal or alkaline earth metal are present in an oxidation state above that of the elemental metal.