The behavior of nanoscopic bits of platinum may determine whether a hydrogen-powered car is in your future. The precious metal is the key ingredient in fuel cells that power electric cars with hydrogen, producing water as the only byproduct. Unfortunately, current models are expensive because they use so much platinum, and their performance degrades too quickly for practical use. But advances by two U.S.-led groups offer new hope for tackling these problems.
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Robert F. Service (2007) studied this question.