{"id":32416,"date":"2026-06-03T09:17:48","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T08:17:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/?p=32416"},"modified":"2026-06-03T09:17:49","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T08:17:49","slug":"atomic-reshuffle-paves-way-for-record-breaking-catalysts-for-hydrogen-production","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/atomic-reshuffle-paves-way-for-record-breaking-catalysts-for-hydrogen-production\/","title":{"rendered":"Atomic reshuffle\u00a0paves way for\u00a0record-breaking catalysts for\u00a0hydrogen production\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Researchers have discovered that atoms can be mixed, separated and recombined within the same experiment, providing a pathway to a record-breaking catalyst for green hydrogen production. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the study, the team created nanoscale particles containing only a few dozen platinum and nickel atoms and observed unusual dynamic behaviour in direct space and in real time. As the two metals separate from one another, while maintaining an interface, they become highly active for electrochemical water splitting, leading to efficient hydrogen evolution.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The project is led by the University of Nottingham in collaboration with the\u00a0University of Birmingham, Diamond Light Source, and Ulm University in Germany. The\u00a0study\u00a0has been\u00a0published in\u00a0Advanced\u00a0Materials<\/em>.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr Jesum Alves Fernandes, in the School of Chemistry, University of Nottingham, who led the research team, said: “What makes this discovery exciting is that we can reversibly tune the structure of the particle while directly observing the process at the atomic scale. This opens a new strategy for designing adaptive catalysts for a wide range of applications.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When milk is added to coffee, the two substances mix together effortlessly and cannot spontaneously separate. This process is dictated by the second law of thermodynamics, which regulates the behaviour of molecules and atoms, leading to an increase in entropy, or a measure of disorder. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr Emerson Kohlrausch, who led experimental work in the University of Nottingham’s School of Chemistry, said, “Initially, when we looked at the platinum-nickel nanoparticles under the electron microscope, we saw that the two types of atoms are mixed, as one would expect in an alloy. However, only a few seconds later, the two metals started to separate from each other in front of our eyes. This was an astonishing observation, as it appeared to go against conventional thermodynamic behaviours.”  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To image a material by electron microscopy, the atoms must interact with a beam of fast electrons, which can transfer some of their energy to the atoms in the sample. This stimulates atoms to reshuffle in the particle to occupy new positions, which, in the case of intermetallic platinum-nickel, leads to the separation of the metals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As soon as nickel is separated from platinum, it picks up oxygen atoms from the environment, forming an oxide. “This results in nanoparticles made of two halves \u2013 platinum metal and nickel oxide, separated by an atomically defined interface. We create new types of hybrid particles and observe their formation in realtime, which is unprecedented,” says Professor Andrei Khlobystov, Professor of Nanomaterials at the University of Nottingham, who champions the use of electron microscopy for imaging chemical reactions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The team\u00a0utilised\u00a0the electron beam as\u00a0both\u00a0an imaging tool and\u00a0a\u00a0source of energy for chemical reactions in the past,\u00a0demonstrating\u00a0the first\u00a0real-time observation of chemical bond breaking and forming<\/strong><\/a>,\u00a0and\u00a0crystal nucleation<\/strong><\/a>.\u00a0Professor Ute Kaiser,\u00a0who\u00a0led\u00a0the SALVE\u00a0project that developed a unique\u00a0microscope\u00a0for these experiments\u00a0at Ulm\u00a0University, Germany,\u00a0said: “It is important to create conditions under which we can track positions of every atom.\u00a0To achieve this,\u00a0we employed the thinnest possible material to support\u00a0the\u00a0nanoparticles\u00a0\u2013 the\u00a0graphene sheet, and carefully controlled electron beam energy and flux.”\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remarkably, the metals can be mixed together again if the conditions are changed, forming an alloy, and the same process can be repeated several times. Dr Emerson Kohlrausch said, “Rather than behaving like rigid solid objects, the particles appeared to behave like living creatures, responding to the environment. This inspired us to harness their dynamics for catalysis”.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The researchers explored\u00a0platinum-nickel particles for hydrogen production\u00a0via\u00a0electrochemical\u00a0water\u00a0splitting. They showed that the metal separation\u00a0process\u00a0discovered in the electron microscope also\u00a0occurs\u00a0under the reaction conditions.\u00a0Dr\u00a0Jesum\u00a0Alves Fernandes said,\u00a0“What makes these particles so effective is the cooperation between the two materials after separation. Platinum and nickel oxide each perform\u00a0different\u00a0roles\u00a0in water splitting, and\u00a0sharing an atomic boundary\u00a0enables the ultimate cooperation between\u00a0them.”\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cooperative effect boosts the hydrogen production from water, making this material one of the most effective catalysts for water splitting. Beyond hydrogen production, the findings could influence the future design of catalysts for energy conversion, chemical manufacturing, and sustainable industrial processes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The research is funded by the EPSRC Programme Grant\u00a0Metal Atoms on Surfaces and Interfaces (MASI)\u00a0for a Sustainable Future. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Researchers have discovered that atoms can be mixed, separated and recombined within the same experiment, providing a pathway to a record-breaking catalyst for green hydrogen production.  In the study, the team created nanoscale particles containing only a few dozen platinum and nickel atoms and observed unusual dynamic behaviour in direct space and in real time. As the two metals separate from one another, while maintaining an interface, they become highly active for electrochemical water splitting, leading to efficient …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[14959,7340,14960,5596,1079],"class_list":["post-32416","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","","category-process","tag-diamond-light-source","tag-hydrogen-production","tag-ulm-university","tag-university-of-birmingham","tag-university-of-nottingham"],"yoast_head":"\nAtomic reshuffle\u00a0paves way for\u00a0record-breaking catalysts for\u00a0hydrogen production\u00a0 - Engineer News Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/atomic-reshuffle-paves-way-for-record-breaking-catalysts-for-hydrogen-production\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Atomic reshuffle\u00a0paves way for\u00a0record-breaking catalysts for\u00a0hydrogen production\u00a0 - Engineer News Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Researchers have discovered that atoms can be mixed, separated and recombined within the same experiment, providing a pathway to a record-breaking catalyst for green hydrogen production.  In the study, the team created nanoscale particles containing only a few dozen platinum and nickel atoms and observed unusual dynamic behaviour in direct space and in real time. As the two metals separate from one another, while maintaining an interface, they become highly active for electrochemical water splitting, leading to efficient …\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/atomic-reshuffle-paves-way-for-record-breaking-catalysts-for-hydrogen-production\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Engineer News Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-03T08:17:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-06-03T08:17:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\\\/blog\\\/atomic-reshuffle-paves-way-for-record-breaking-catalysts-for-hydrogen-production\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\\\/blog\\\/atomic-reshuffle-paves-way-for-record-breaking-catalysts-for-hydrogen-production\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4477342aea8e299c6a21761e513ea8e1\"},\"headline\":\"Atomic reshuffle\u00a0paves way for\u00a0record-breaking catalysts for\u00a0hydrogen production\u00a0\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-03T08:17:48+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-06-03T08:17:49+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\\\/blog\\\/atomic-reshuffle-paves-way-for-record-breaking-catalysts-for-hydrogen-production\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":841,\"keywords\":[\"Diamond Light Source\",\"hydrogen production\",\"Ulm University\",\"University of Birmingham\",\"University of Nottingham\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Process\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\\\/blog\\\/atomic-reshuffle-paves-way-for-record-breaking-catalysts-for-hydrogen-production\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\\\/blog\\\/atomic-reshuffle-paves-way-for-record-breaking-catalysts-for-hydrogen-production\\\/\",\"name\":\"Atomic reshuffle\u00a0paves way for\u00a0record-breaking catalysts for\u00a0hydrogen production\u00a0 - Engineer News Network\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-03T08:17:48+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-06-03T08:17:49+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4477342aea8e299c6a21761e513ea8e1\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\\\/blog\\\/atomic-reshuffle-paves-way-for-record-breaking-catalysts-for-hydrogen-production\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\\\/blog\\\/atomic-reshuffle-paves-way-for-record-breaking-catalysts-for-hydrogen-production\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\\\/blog\\\/atomic-reshuffle-paves-way-for-record-breaking-catalysts-for-hydrogen-production\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Atomic reshuffle\u00a0paves way for\u00a0record-breaking catalysts for\u00a0hydrogen production\u00a0\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"Engineer News Network\",\"description\":\"The ultimate online news and information resource for today's engineer\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4477342aea8e299c6a21761e513ea8e1\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/admin\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Atomic reshuffle\u00a0paves way for\u00a0record-breaking catalysts for\u00a0hydrogen production\u00a0 - Engineer News Network","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/atomic-reshuffle-paves-way-for-record-breaking-catalysts-for-hydrogen-production\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Atomic reshuffle\u00a0paves way for\u00a0record-breaking catalysts for\u00a0hydrogen production\u00a0 - Engineer News Network","og_description":"Researchers have discovered that atoms can be mixed, separated and recombined within the same experiment, providing a pathway to a record-breaking catalyst for green hydrogen production.  In the study, the team created nanoscale particles containing only a few dozen platinum and nickel atoms and observed unusual dynamic behaviour in direct space and in real time. As the two metals separate from one another, while maintaining an interface, they become highly active for electrochemical water splitting, leading to efficient …","og_url":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/atomic-reshuffle-paves-way-for-record-breaking-catalysts-for-hydrogen-production\/","og_site_name":"Engineer News Network","article_published_time":"2026-06-03T08:17:48+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-06-03T08:17:49+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Estimated reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/atomic-reshuffle-paves-way-for-record-breaking-catalysts-for-hydrogen-production\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/atomic-reshuffle-paves-way-for-record-breaking-catalysts-for-hydrogen-production\/"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/4477342aea8e299c6a21761e513ea8e1"},"headline":"Atomic reshuffle\u00a0paves way for\u00a0record-breaking catalysts for\u00a0hydrogen production\u00a0","datePublished":"2026-06-03T08:17:48+00:00","dateModified":"2026-06-03T08:17:49+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/atomic-reshuffle-paves-way-for-record-breaking-catalysts-for-hydrogen-production\/"},"wordCount":841,"keywords":["Diamond Light Source","hydrogen production","Ulm University","University of Birmingham","University of Nottingham"],"articleSection":["Process"],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/atomic-reshuffle-paves-way-for-record-breaking-catalysts-for-hydrogen-production\/","url":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/atomic-reshuffle-paves-way-for-record-breaking-catalysts-for-hydrogen-production\/","name":"Atomic reshuffle\u00a0paves way for\u00a0record-breaking catalysts for\u00a0hydrogen production\u00a0 - Engineer News Network","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-06-03T08:17:48+00:00","dateModified":"2026-06-03T08:17:49+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/4477342aea8e299c6a21761e513ea8e1"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/atomic-reshuffle-paves-way-for-record-breaking-catalysts-for-hydrogen-production\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/atomic-reshuffle-paves-way-for-record-breaking-catalysts-for-hydrogen-production\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/atomic-reshuffle-paves-way-for-record-breaking-catalysts-for-hydrogen-production\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Atomic reshuffle\u00a0paves way for\u00a0record-breaking catalysts for\u00a0hydrogen production\u00a0"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/","name":"Engineer News Network","description":"The ultimate online news and information resource for today's engineer","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/4477342aea8e299c6a21761e513ea8e1","name":"admin","url":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32416","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32416"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32416\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32417,"href":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32416\/revisions\/32417"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32416"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32416"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32416"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}