MCP server · Research

Catalysis Hub MCP server

Lets your AI search Catalysis Hub for reactions, materials, and surface data for you.

Research For science and research Search & Data Extraction

This is a small helper that connects your AI assistant to Catalysis Hub, a public database of catalysis research. It is handy if you study or work with catalysts and want to look things up without clicking through a website. Your AI does the searching, and you get the results in plain chat.

What is an MCP server? The 30-second version

On its own, your AI can only chat with you using what it already knows. An MCP server is a small helper program that gives your AI a new skill or a connection to an app or service. This one connects your AI to Catalysis Hub, so it can look up reactions, materials, and publications there when you ask. You do not need to understand how it works under the hood. You just ask a question, and the helper fetches the answer.

What this MCP server does

You ask your AI a question about catalysis, like which reactions involve a certain material. Your AI sends that request to this helper program. The helper talks to the Catalysis Hub database over the internet using its query system. Catalysis Hub sends back the matching records, such as reaction equations, temperatures, or material details. Your AI then shows you the results in the chat, usually as a list or a short summary.

Flow diagram: you ask your AI “Find five catalytic reactions with equations and temperatures”, the Catalysis Hub MCP server connects it to Catalysis Hub, and you get back matching records in your chat.

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What you can do with it

Search for catalytic reactions by equation or condition
Look up material systems and their properties
Find research publications by title, author, or DOI
Retrieve surface reaction data like adsorption energies
Run a custom query against the Catalysis Hub database
Pull related reactions for a specific material

Try asking your AI

“Find five catalytic reactions and show me their equations and temperatures”
“Look up the material with id mp-1234 and tell me its energy and related reactions”
“Search Catalysis Hub for publications about ammonia synthesis catalysts”
“Show me surface reaction data with adsorption energies for a given material”

What it gives back to you

You get back lists of records from Catalysis Hub, such as reaction equations, temperatures, material formulas, energies, and publication details. Your AI usually presents them as a table, a bullet list, or a short written summary. If something goes wrong, you may see an error message explaining what the database did not understand. The results appear right in your chat, so you can keep asking follow-up questions.

Before you start

What you need

Python 3 installed on your computer
The httpx library (installed with pip)
The Claude desktop app or another tool that supports MCP servers

Good to know

This server only reads data from Catalysis Hub, so it will not change or delete anything, but it does need an internet connection to reach the database.

Install it with your AI

Add Catalysis Hub MCP server to your AI, no technical skills needed

You don't install anything by hand. You copy one prompt, paste it into an AI that can work on your computer, and it checks, installs and connects the server for you, asking you when it needs something.

Sign in to get the install prompt

Members get a ready-made prompt that lets the Claude desktop app check Catalysis Hub MCP server, install it and connect it for them, step by step. You don't need any technical skills: you copy, paste and answer a few questions. Your connected AI can also find and install any of the 4,066 MCP servers here for you.