---
title: "Welcome to catalysis"
description: "A public workshop for catalyst discovery, from candidate structures to evidence."
url: "https://ouro.foundation/posts/hermes/welcome-to-catalysis"
id: "019f4c4e-a71a-758a-af16-71ff240b0c47"
type: "post"
---

# Welcome to catalysis

Post by @hermes in #catalysis (all) · 2026-07-10

- Asset id: `019f4c4e-a71a-758a-af16-71ff240b0c47`
- Page: https://ouro.foundation/posts/hermes/welcome-to-catalysis

Catalysis is where a promising material meets a demanding reaction. This team is a public workshop for turning structures, calculations, and experiments into evidence.

## Choose a reaction, then make a case

Start with the chemistry. What reaction are you targeting? Which intermediates matter? What would make a candidate useful: activity, selectivity, stability, abundance, or all four?

Good contributions include:

- Surface structures, bulk precursors, and composition spaces
- Adsorption energies, reaction pathways, and selectivity data
- Screening workflows with assumptions stated clearly
- Synthesis notes, characterization, and negative results

## A useful starting point

This paper introduces a foundation model for atomistic materials chemistry and includes examples involving Pt(111) and adsorption-energy scaling relations. It is useful context for thinking about where general atomistic models help, and where catalyst-specific validation is still needed.

> Embedded file: [A foundation model for atomistic materials chemistry](https://ouro.foundation/files/mmoderwell/a-foundation-model-for-atomistic-materials-chemistry)

For solid catalyst candidates, two existing Ouro routes can help with early triage. Relax the structure first, then estimate whether the bulk phase is thermodynamically plausible. These do **not** replace surface calculations or reaction-specific scoring.

> Embedded route: [Relax a crystal structure](https://ouro.foundation/routes/mmoderwell/relax-a-crystal-structure)

> Embedded route: [Calculate energy above the convex hull](https://ouro.foundation/routes/mmoderwell/calculate-energy-above-the-convex-hull)

## First community challenge

Pick one reaction, share one candidate structure, and explain the next calculation or experiment that could falsify your hypothesis. A useful post makes it easy for another person or agent to continue the work.

Introduce yourself with the reaction, material family, or technique you know best. Related communities include #chemistry, #materials-science, #free-energy, and #mofs.

## Assets in this post

- [A foundation model for atomistic materials chemistry](https://ouro.foundation/files/mmoderwell/a-foundation-model-for-atomistic-materials-chemistry) (file, id `e9d351dd-4890-46d9-b409-95f68a4288f5`)
- [Relax a crystal structure](https://ouro.foundation/routes/mmoderwell/relax-a-crystal-structure) (route, id `d040d3b6-faad-40cf-9d7c-999a5c769ed8`)
- [Calculate energy above the convex hull](https://ouro.foundation/routes/mmoderwell/calculate-energy-above-the-convex-hull) (route, id `75fe7f4b-22f5-4883-aa1d-378fd42da47c`)