NIST's process uses water as a solvent to make the nano-raspberries in roughly 40 minutes. The team tried a number of solvent alternatives, including methanol, ethanol and isopropanol, to see how they affected the production of "nano-grapes," which are formed from large clumps of nano-raspberries. These bunches, if they grow too large, can reduce their catalytic properties, and it's this part of NIST's research that the team says is most valuable. In short, it's not just the nanoparticle material that scientists should be worried about -- it's also the solvent they're paired with. The hope is that their test methods will now be replicated to discover new, alternative solvent and nano-raspberry combinations. After all, platinum isn't exactly the cheapest material to use inside fuel cells.

[Image Credit: Curtin/NIST]