The spatial arrangement between metal and acid sites critically influences the hydroisomerization efficiency of metal/zeolite catalysts in n-alkane conversion. Nevertheless, achieving precise control on metal-acid intimacy remains a significant challenge at the nanoscale. Herein, Pt nanoparticles are strategically tailored on TiO2-modified ZSM-5 carriers via atomic layer deposition, leveraging the TiO2 spacer thickness as a tunable parameter to modulate interfacial distances. In the hydroisomerization of n-hexane, the catalytic performance of the Pt-Ti/ZSM-5 with different TiO2 thickness displayed a volcano-shaped trend with respect to the metal-acid distances, peaking at 67.5% iso-C6 yield under optimized proximity. This enhanced performance arose from the metal-acid distance-mediated diffusion confinement, resulting in the kinetically favorable reaction pathways. The established structure-property relationship provides a blueprint for rationally designing spatially optimized metal/zeolite catalysts, while advancing the fundamental understanding of bifunctional catalysis.
Keywords: atomic layer deposition; bifunctional catalysis; hydroisomerization; metal/zeolite; metal‐acid proximity.
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