{"id":57231,"date":"2026-06-12T11:08:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T15:08:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine\/?p=57231"},"modified":"2026-06-12T12:11:08","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T16:11:08","slug":"the-platinum-problem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine\/impact\/the-platinum-problem\/","title":{"rendered":"The Platinum Problem"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Hydrogen fuel cells provide clean, renewable, reliable, low-emission electricity. A stable domestic energy source, they also offer flexibility and support other renewables like wind and solar. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even with these advantages, significant obstacles remain to broad adoption, including the high cost and material constraints of platinum, the catalyst for the oxygen reduction and hydrogen oxidation reactions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Searching for cheaper, more abundant catalyst alternatives, a team of materials scientists led by Corey Oses<\/a>, an assistant professor of material science and engineering<\/a> and a member of JHU\u2019s Ralph O\u2019Connor Sustainable Energy Institute<\/a>, looked to high-entropy alloys, or HEAs. \u201cWe believed they were the best option because they\u2019re made of many components that might be able to mimic or even exceed the emulator, outperforming a material like platinum,\u201d Oses says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To predict which HEA\u00a0combinations would work\u00a0best, the team created an\u00a0AI framework. \u201cOur goal\u00a0was to quickly screen more\u00a0compositions and generate\u00a0rapid predictions. We\u00a0wondered if we could teach\u00a0an algorithm these properties\u00a0and then integrate\u00a0it into a machine learning framework,\u201d says Oses.\u00a0\u201cAnd the answer is yes,\u00a0we can.\u201d Their study was\u00a0published in Nano Futures<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cOur goal was to quickly screen more compositions and generate rapid predictions. We wondered if we could teach an algorithm these properties and then integrate it into a machine learning framework. And the answer is yes, we can.\u201d \u2014 Corey Oses<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

While this project focuses on one common type of atomic arrangement\u2014body-centered cubic structures\u2014future work will explore other arrangements found in HEAs and close the loop between computation and experiment. Top AI predictions will be synthesized and tested, with results fed back to refine the model. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat cycle could speed and economize the hunt for platinum alternatives,\u201d Oses says. By combining computational depth with practical shortcuts, the approach aims to accelerate discovery of catalytic materials that could lower costs and help hydrogen fuel cells reach wider commercial use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 CONNER ALLEN<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Corey Oses is looking at high-entropy alloys as a more affordable and abundant energy alternative.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":57915,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[],"issue":[105],"class_list":["post-57231","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-impact","issue-spring-2026"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Platinum Problem - Johns Hopkins Engineering Magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine\/impact\/the-platinum-problem\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Platinum Problem - Johns Hopkins Engineering Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Corey Oses is looking at high-entropy alloys as a more affordable and abundant energy alternative.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine\/impact\/the-platinum-problem\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Johns Hopkins Engineering Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-12T15:08:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-06-12T16:11:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/PlatinumProblem.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"608\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"614\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Deboreah Ross\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine\\\/impact\\\/the-platinum-problem\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine\\\/impact\\\/the-platinum-problem\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Deboreah Ross\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e5619ae16d2b72b2cac7fcbd75b69356\"},\"headline\":\"The Platinum Problem\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-12T15:08:14+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-06-12T16:11:08+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine\\\/impact\\\/the-platinum-problem\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":375,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine\\\/impact\\\/the-platinum-problem\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/PlatinumProblem.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Impact: Faculty Innovation\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine\\\/impact\\\/the-platinum-problem\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine\\\/impact\\\/the-platinum-problem\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Platinum Problem - 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