Abstract
The direct conversion of dimethyl ether (DME) to liquid fuels offers an attractive single-step route to high-octane gasoline. However, achieving the required synergy between metal and acid functions remains a long-standing challenge: Ni promotes hydrogenation but also triggers unselective hydrogenolysis, while zeolite acid sites initiate C–C coupling yet suffer from rapid deactivation. Here we report an induction-programming strategy that dynamically transforms NiOx/ZSM-5 into a cooperative Ni/NiₓC/zeolite interface under reaction conditions. This interface suppresses methane and aromatics formation, while directing the reaction pathway toward branched isoparaffins with high yield and stability. Operando X-ray absorption spectroscopy and in situ spectroscopies reveal the progressive reduction of NiO to metallic Ni and its controlled carburization into NixC, correlating phase evolution with the onset of selective tandem catalysis. Through control of the active phase’s temporal evolution, induction programming offers a versatile framework for activating bifunctional catalysts and achieving spatiotemporal control of complex reactions beyond DME conversion.
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Acknowledgements
Funding from this work was provided by King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). The authors would like to thank Dr. Mark Meijerink for his assistance with the TEM measurements and Dr. Indranil Dutta for his assistance with characterizations. We are also grateful to Dr. Shouwei Zuo and Dr. Yan Wang for valuable suggestions on XAS data treatment, and to Prof. Diego Mateo for insightful scientific discussions. The FAME project is financially supported by the French “grand emprunt” EquipEx (MAGNIFIX, ANR-21-ESRE-0011), the CEA-CNRS CRG consortium and the INSU CNRS institute.
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Gong, X., Wang, X., Rendón-Patiño, A. et al. Spatiotemporal activation of Ni/Zeolite catalysts enables isoparaffin-rich gasoline. Nat Commun (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-72090-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-72090-8
