Platinum, a noble metal, is oxidised more quickly than expected under conditions that are technologically relevant. This has emerged from a study jointly conducted by the DESY NanoLab and the University of Vienna. Devices that contain platinum, such as the catalytic converters used to reduce exhaust emissions in cars, can suffer a loss in efficacy as a result of this reaction. A team led by principal author Thomas Keller, from DESY and the University of Hamburg, has published a recent study of this phenomenon in Solid State Ionics.