Scientists crafting a nickel-based catalyst used in making hydrogen fuel built it one atomic layer at a time to gain full control over its chemical properties. But the finished material didn’t behave as they expected: As one version of the catalyst went about its work, the top-most layer of atoms rearranged to form a new pattern, as if the square tiles that cover a floor had suddenly changed to hexagons.
Click here for original story, Study shows tweaking one layer of atoms on a catalyst’s surface can make it work better
Source: Phys.org