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    "story_id": "mp-2026-08-04-007",
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    "headline": "A Silica Shell Taught Nickel When Not to Crack",
    "slug": "a-silica-shell-taught-nickel-when-not-to-crack",
    "dek": "Regulating surface acidity lifted heptane conversion while suppressing unwanted fuel cracking.",
    "summary": "Regulating surface acidity lifted heptane conversion while suppressing unwanted fuel cracking.",
    "body_text": "Researchers coated ZSM-5 zeolite with an inert silica shell and then added 2 percent nickel, preserving the pore framework while moderating external acidity. Under optimized laboratory conditions, the core-shell catalyst converted 91.1 percent of n-heptane with 56.7 percent selectivity for isomers. The authors attribute the result to a balance among acidity, mass transport and metal-acid cooperation. It is a controlled catalyst study, not evidence of refinery-scale durability or economics.",
    "why_it_matters": "Regulating surface acidity lifted heptane conversion while suppressing unwanted fuel cracking.",
    "limitations": [
      "Under optimized laboratory conditions, the core-shell catalyst converted 91.1 percent of n-heptane with 56.7 percent selectivity for isomers.",
      "It is a controlled catalyst study, not evidence of refinery-scale durability or economics."
    ],
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        "text": "Regulating surface acidity lifted heptane conversion while suppressing unwanted fuel cracking.",
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        "qualification": "Under optimized laboratory conditions, the core-shell catalyst converted 91.1 percent of n-heptane with 56.7 percent selectivity for isomers."
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    "tags": [
      "catalysis",
      "clean fuels",
      "zeolites"
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    {
      "source_id": "source-2026-08-04-007",
      "title": "Molecules: core-shell nickel ZSM-5 catalyst",
      "publisher": "MDPI",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules31152704",
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    "title": "A Silica Shell Taught Nickel When Not to Crack",
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