Catalysts, often metal nanoparticles, are involved in
the production of over 80% of commercial products such as plastics,
fuels and pharmaceuticals. Computational methods aid in designing
nanoparticle catalysts consisting of mixtures of metals, called
alloyed nanoparticles, with high reaction activity and selectivity.
However, producing alloyed nanoparticles with arbitrary composition
in the lab do not yet exist. Indeed, the fundamental chemistry of
alloyed nanoparticle synthesis remains an enigma.