Ice cubes melt to make single atom metals

Trapping a reagent in an ice cube and letting it slowly melt in a solution of another reagent is the simplest way to make isolated transition metal atoms, researchers in China have discovered. Certain reactions – like the one between silver nitrate and sodium chloride – produce insoluble solids that precipitate. Often, this process is undesirable as it creates large and irregular clumps of solids. Nanoparticles, for example, have different properties depending on their size, and when it comes to metal catalysts, smaller particles are often more efficient.