They should look into the creation of a tube-like lattice structure that would allow only one or two atoms of hydrogen through at a time, like a tunnel...................
There have been a slight few experiments with carbon nanotubes in LENR.
Edmund Storms of Los Alamos liked nano-cracks as active sites.
Wonder if they tried Uranium Deuteride, isn’t that UD3 (heheh)? A notable issue with using UD3 in initiators is the neutrons are moderated by the D and thus the nuclear reaction fizzles, but in this case something less than a fizzle is perfectly alright. If the UD3 is surface coated (a few atoms thick perhaps) onto a negatively charged conductor (heheh gold) then it could be bombarded with D+ ions from a Neutristor-like accelerator of some kind. Gold is interesting as a substrate because it will let out a little gamma when it captures a neutron or perhaps suffer beta decay. Either of which could stimulate more fun.
Note I am not a real nuclear physicist, just a lay person reading wikipedia and those interesting papers cited in the article.