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The gold rush at the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition 2014

1,618 views · Published 29 April 2014 · 4:29 · Indexed 22 October 2026

Channel: The Royal Society · 2014 · Science & Technology

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The gold rush exhibit at the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition 2014.

Professor Rudolf Allemann, Head of Cardiff School of Chemistry.
Professor Graham Hutchings FRS, Director of the Cardiff Catalysis Institute.
Professor Stuart Taylor, Professor of Physical Chemistry, Cardiff University.
Dr Phil Davies, Senior Lecturer in Physical Chemistry, Cardiff University.
Dr David Willock, Senior Lecturer in Physical Chemistry, Cardiff University.
Dr Ewa Nowicka, Postdoctoral Research Associate, Cardiff University.
Sara Vieitez Calo, PhD Student, Cardiff Catalysis Institute.
James Carter, PhD Student, Cardiff Catalysis Institute.
Liam Thomas, PhD Student, Cardiff Catalysis Institute.
David Watson, PhD Student, Cardiff Catalysis Institute.

Catalysis is essential to our everyday lives, producing the fertilisers that increase food yields, manufacturing the plastics we need and cleaning the environment. Catalysts make chemical reactions happen faster: poisonous CO and NOx are converted to more benign CO2 and N2 in a fraction of second in a car exhaust. Catalyst activity often depends on nano-scale metal particles. A case in point is gold. Prized for its chemical inertness, at the nano-scale gold is a surprisingly effective catalyst that can accelerate a range of chemical reactions. This exhibit shows how our understanding of gold catalysis is leading to new and exciting innovations helping to improve and sustain our world.

The Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition 2014 was held 1-6 July 2014 at the Royal Society in London. Find out more: http://sse.royalsociety.org/2014/

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