Moreno-Hernandez Lab Preserving Rare Elements Through Nanoscience

Noble metal oxides are materials that are incredibly rare on earth but also have incredible properties that make them useful for chemical transformations and renewable energy. In this work, the Moreno-Hernandez Lab discovered a way to grow these expensive materials on inexpensive supports that not only made better use of the material but also had synergistic effects that improved their properties. A key finding was that ruthenium oxide grown on titanium oxide, the same material that sunscreen is composed of, resulted in a catalyst that was over 100 times more active than a catalyst composed of 100% ruthenium oxide. These findings have the potential to greatly reduce the use of rare elements in important applications such as renewable energy and chemical transformations, and highlight the potential for nanoscience to address societal needs. 

Learn more about the Moreno-Hernandez Lab's recent work here in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.