Gemlike Nanoparticles Shine as Catalysts

Northwestern researchers, including Professors Chad A. Mirkin, Chris Wolverton, and Vinayak Dravid, developed a new method for making highly desirable catalysts from metal nanoparticles, potentially leading to better fuel cells. The researchers also discovered that the method can take spent catalysts and recycle them into active catalysts.

These coveted catalysts are gem-shaped, and each particle has 24 different faces presenting atoms at the surface in ways that make them more catalytically active than those available commercially.

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