Researchers from the Weizmann Institute of Science and the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory have investigated the molecular-level dynamics at play when methanol converts to hydrogen via the help of a copper catalyst, with the whole system under ambient pressure and temperature. This study, which yielded some surprising information about the behavior of the methanol on different copper surfaces, will help researchers find the best-performing copper catalyst for this process and, more broadly, further their understanding of copper catalysts as a group.