Rethinking the Solid State: Benchmarking Non-Equilibrium Steady-State (NESS) Indicators in Quantum Catalysis

This technical preprint evaluates whether certain active transition-metal oxide catalyst architectures satisfy the physical criteria used in open quantum systems and quantum thermodynamics to identify a true Non-Equilibrium Steady State (NESS).

The work benchmarks empirical photoacoustic relaxation metrics (Ω), cubic state-balance formalisms (X³), and threshold micro-doping behavior against four established literature indicators: persistent internal fluxes, extended non-thermal lifetimes, vibronic symmetry control, and multi-probe non-thermal consistency. The analysis is supported by time-resolved reactor profiling that demonstrates macroscopic spatial decoupling of energy dissipation under controlled flux restriction.

The central finding is that persistent catalytic function in the systems examined is governed by global material architecture—excited-state lifetime bounding, defect topology, and symmetry-breaking control—rather than surface-site energetics or elemental composition alone. A first-principles design model is shown to pre-falsify non-viable formulations and to identify candidates that have so far exhibited the expected non-equilibrium behavior when prepared and tested. Common design strategies that fail the observed structural thresholds have not produced sustained non-equilibrium function in the systems examined and are disfavored by the present model.

This record is intended as a comparative materials-science contribution. It does not claim completed electrical energy generation. The underlying empirical dataset and foundational manuscript are available in the related Zenodo record (DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17791531)

Version 1.1: Corrected DOI in final reference entry.