Heterogeneous Single Atom Environmental Catalysis: Fundamentals, Applications, and Opportunities

• Published in: Advanced functional materials Vol. 32; no. 9
• Main Authors: Cui, Tingting, Li, Luxuan, Ye, Chenliang, Li, Xingyun, Liu, Chengxiang, Zhu, Shanhui, Chen, Wei, Wang, Dingsheng
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.02.2022
• Subjects: Acetylene; Catalysis; catalytic mechanisms; Electronic structure; environmental catalysis; Hydrochlorination; Materials science; Optimization; Oxidation; Pollution abatement; Single atom catalysts; Sketches; structure–activity relationships; synthesis strategies; VOCs; Volatile organic compounds; Water purification
• ISSN: 1616-301X; 1616-3028
• DOI: 10.1002/adfm.202108381

The development of efficient catalysts is pivotal for pollution abatement to guarantee a sustainable and green industrial production. Supported single atom catalysts (SACs) with the advantages of maximum atom utilization, unique electronic structure, and distinguished metal support interaction have recently become a hotspot in the catalysis community, and bring new opportunities for environmental catalysis. This review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the latest progress on the environmental SACs from both the fundamental and practical points of view. It starts with highlighting the state‐of‐the‐art synthesis strategies of great values for the practical use to construct challenging SACs. The applications of SACs in the environmental remediation processes are critically summarized, including CO oxidation, NOx decomposition, volatile organic compounds incineration, CO2 conversion, and water purification. Meanwhile, the topic also sketches out the recent progress for the non‐mercury catalyzed acetylene hydrochlorination reaction to address the environmental‐benign synthesis. Emphasis is placed on the elucidation of the structure–activity relationships and the underlying catalytic mechanisms to shed light on the guidelines for catalyst optimization and upgradation. Finally, the remaining challenges and perspectives for this flourishing field are also discussed. The study of single atom catalysts (SACs) has emerged as a frontier in the catalytic realm, which brought flourish opportunity for traditional environmental catalysis. The recent developments of SACs in the catalytic environmental decontamination are summarized. With deep digs into catalyst preparation, catalytic mechanism, and practical applications, a salutary guidance for the exploration of future environmental SACs is provided.