We’ve known how to turn lead into gold for ages, you just add a couple of protons, neutrons, and electrons. Long story short: Uses a fuckton of energy, not worth it.
Fun fact: When Ernest Rutherford and colleagues put together the first paper about their findings they avoided the word “transmutation” like the plague. It has been considered impossible since before alchemy became chemistry and even though he was publishing in physics chemists would probably still have had his head.
Nuclear energy is more expensive than renewable so not really, no. Having a good combination of starting materials to minimise the amount of energy you need to fuse everything together, or even starting out with something heavier, would be the way to go.
For more details ask a nuclear physicist of which I’m not one. Honestly there doesn’t seem to be much work on it.
