The present invention provides a process for in-situ preparation of metal oxide(s) comprising the step of precipitating a metal salt solution with Fehling's reagent B and glucose at a suitable temperature. The metal oxide(s) prepared according to the present invention can be used for diverse applications including their utility as catalyst(s) in one or more reactions. The present invention further provides a highly selective bi-functional hybrid catalyst for direct conversion of syn-gas to dimethyl ether (DME) and methods of preparation thereof. The one or more metal oxide(s) can be directly obtained from the metal precursors following the method(s) of the present invention instead of metal hydroxides as in conventional known methods, thereby eliminating the necessity of high temperature calcination step(s) and rigorous reduction procedure(s).