Scientists Spent 20 Years on This Platinum Mystery and Finally Solved It

For years, scientists were baffled by a peculiar problem: why do platinum electrodes, usually stable, corrode so quickly in electrochemical devices? A collaboration between SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Leiden University cracked the case by using cutting-edge X-ray techniques. They found that platinum hydrides, not sodium ions as once suspected, were responsible for the degradation. [...]