<i>"It looks like we can predict which combinations of elemental atoms mimic other elemental atoms," he said. "For example, by looking at the periodic table, you can predict that titanium monoxide will be a superatom of nickel. Simply start at titanium, which has four outer-shell electrons, and move six elements to the right, because atomic oxygen possesses six outer-shell electrons. The element you end up on is nickel, whose 10 outer-shell electrons make it isoelectronic with the 10 outer-shell electron molecule resulting from the combination of titanium and oxygen. We thought this finding must be a curious coincidence, so we tried it with other atoms and we found that a pattern emerged."</i><p>It's curious how genius appears obvious in hindsight.
FTA: "This research was funded by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research."<p>Interesting to see the kind of practical basic research being done by the military. Their website is interesting: <a href="http://www.wpafb.af.mil/AFRL/afosr/" rel="nofollow">http://www.wpafb.af.mil/AFRL/afosr/</a>
This is interesting, but it seems so simple that if it actually works (ie if you can actually substitute tungsten carbide for platinum or zirconium monoxide for palladium), it's quite surprising that no-one has noticed this before.