Berkeley Lab reserachers invent way to study catalysts at atomic level

In California, a team led by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has invented a technique to study electrochemical processes at the atomic level with unprecedented resolution and used it to gain new insights into a popular catalyst material. Electrochemical reactions — chemical transformations that are caused by or accompanied by the flow of electric currents — are the basis of batteries, fuel cells, electrolysis, and solar-powered fuel generation, among other technologies. They also drive biological processes such as photosynthesis and occur under the Earth’s surface in the formation and breakdown of metal ores.