RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT 29 May 2026 Hexagonal patterns on the surface of gold crystals are an unfavourable environment for reactions. Gold (front) tends not to oxidize, unlike the more reactive silver (back). Credit: David Gray/Bloomberg Creative/Getty Atoms on the surface of solid gold spontaneously arrange themselves in ways that prevent oxygen from tarnishing the metal, researchers have found 1 . Access options Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription $32.99 / 30 days cancel any time Subscribe to this journal Receive 52 print issues and online access $199.00 per year only $3.83 per issue Rent or buy this article Prices vary by article type from $1.95 to $39.95 Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout Additional access options: Log in Learn about institutional subscriptions Read our FAQs Contact customer support doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-026-01671-w References Subjects Latest on: Atomic and…