Platinum is a very useful metal for chemical reactions. It acts as a catalyst, making reactions happen faster without getting used up in the process. Unfortunately, platinum is also rare, so buying enough for large industrial reactions can be very expensive. This problem could soon be solved by dissolving it in gallium.
Gallium is also a metal, but it’s very different to platinum. It’s much cheaper, stays liquid at room temperature, and is very good at dissolving other metals. (Dropping gallium on a can of drink will make the aluminium as soft as paper.)
A group of Australian researchers have discovered that when platinum is dissolved in gallium, it becomes a much better catalyst – roughly a thousand times better. This is because the dissolved atoms get separated apart from each other, making each one easier to access and use in the reaction. The increase in productivity will mean less platinum is needed to complete a reaction, making the whole process much cheaper for manufacturers.
Lachlan Writes Science 