Strategies for boosting the activity of single-atom catalysts for future energy applications

Abstract

Recently, single-atom catalysts (SACs) containing “single-site” active centers have become a distinct category in catalytic science, with positive achievements, performance, and promise for various applications. SACs blur the line between...

Tuning the Coordination Environment of Carbon‐Based Single‐Atom Catalysts via Doping with Multiple Heteroatoms and Their Applications in Electrocatalysis

“…Carbon‐based SACs with multiple heteroatoms doping can efficiently optimize the electronic structure of single‐atom active sites, which can drive outstanding electrocatalysis in ORR, OER, HER, NRR, and CO 2 RR. [ 104 ] This section introduces the latest progress in these electrochemical applications of carbon‐based SACs with doping multiple heteroatoms.…”

A review of boron nitride-based photocatalysts for carbon dioxide reduction

“…Recently, single-atom catalysts (SACs) owing to the use of TM atoms, such as Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Pt, Ti, Pd, and Au with tuneable activity in various environments, have garnered serious attention for the CRR. 177,228 The construction of SACs on the surface of BN-based nanomaterials, for example, h-BN, is like a model of BN with a single vacancy (SVBN) or di-vacancies (DVBN) in which a single or dual atom(s) can be embedded. 229 For producing SVBN, either one B or N atom is removed from the structure of the BN nanomaterial, 230 while DVBN can be fabricated by removing one B and one N atom.…”

Single-atom catalysts: promotors of highly sensitive and selective sensors

“…At ultra-high atomic densities (5-15 atoms nm À2 ), the site distance may decrease to 0.2-0.5 nm or form neighboring atoms or dual atoms. 123 As a result, the key to forming SACs with high-loading density is to take advantage of a suitable substrate (such as specific surface area, defect/ vacancy sites and structures) and build interactions between metal SAs and functional substrates (such as coordination type, anchor sites, bridging mode, and covalent bond interactions). 122 High density or nearby heterogeneous metal atoms not only improve catalytic activity, but also have a synergy between adjacent SAs to activate or adsorb special species in catalytic reactions that low-loading density SACs cannot realize.…”