Could Low-Cost Superatomic Materials Replace Costlier Elements?

Researchers at Penn State think it might be possible to manipulate "super-atoms" to find low-cost replacements for expensive catalytic materials, such as platinum. The concept of superatoms has been around since at least 1995. They are in clusters of atoms or molecules that in the right number and conditions mimic some of the characteristics of a totally different element. In these clusters, the electrons fill the s and p orbitals. The combination can create a new arrangement of closed shells and free electrons that mimic the element that naturally has this electron arrangement.