Catalysis under the microscope is more complex than expected, shows new study

Catalysts composed from tiny metal particles play an important role in many areas of technology—from fuel cells to production of synthetic fuels for energy storage. The exact behavior of catalysts depends, however, on many fine details and their interplay is often difficult to understand. Even when preparing exactly the same catalyst twice, it often occurs that these two will differ in minute aspects and therefore behave very different chemically.