There are possible links to heterogeneous catalysis, with the decahedral particles displaying different performance. The first study by Avery and Sanders did not find them in automobile catalysts. Later work by Marks and Howie found them in silver catalysts, and there have been other reports. It has been suggested that the strain at the surface can change reaction rates, and since there is evidence that surface strain can change the adsorption of molecules and catalysis there is circumstantial support for this. As of 2024, there is some experimental evidence for different catalytic reactivity.