Engineering the Coordination Sphere of Isolated Active Sites to Explore the Intrinsic Activity in Single-Atom Catalysts

• Published in: Nano-micro letters Vol. 13; no. 1; pp. 136 - 28
• Main Authors: Wu, Xin, Zhang, Huabin, Zuo, Shouwei, Dong, Juncai, Li, Yang, Zhang, Jian, Han, Yu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Singapore Springer Nature Singapore 01.12.2021; Springer Nature B.V; SpringerOpen
• Subjects: Catalysis; Coordination numbers; Coordination sphere; Energy conversion; Engineering; Intrinsic activity; Isolated atoms; Nanoparticles; Nanoscale Science and Technology; Nanotechnology; Nanotechnology and Microengineering; Review; Single atom catalysts; Spheres; Structural analysis; Tuning; Coordination sphere; Single-atom catalysts; Isolated atoms; Intrinsic activity
• ISSN: 2311-6706; 2150-5551; 2150-5551
• DOI: 10.1007/s40820-021-00668-6

Highlights All the coordination engineering strategies, such as tuning the coordination species, the coordination number of the active centers, heteroatoms interactions within the support, synergetic interaction between neighboring metal monomers, and spatial microenvironment, have been summarized and discussed in detail. Various single-atom catalysts (SACs) with different coordination spheres in energy conversion driven by thermal, light and electric energy have been systematically reviewed. The current key challenges in SACs for energy conversion are pointed out, and some potential strategies/perspectives are proposed. Reducing the dimensions of metallic nanoparticles to isolated, single atom has attracted considerable attention in heterogeneous catalysis, because it significantly improves atomic utilization and often leads to distinct catalytic performance. Through extensive research, it has been recognized that the local coordination environment of single atoms has an important influence on their electronic structures and catalytic behaviors. In this review, we summarize a series of representative systems of single-atom catalysts, discussing their preparation, characterization, and structure–property relationship, with an emphasis on the correlation between the coordination spheres of isolated reactive centers and their intrinsic catalytic activities. We also share our perspectives on the current challenges and future research promises in the development of single-atom catalysis. With this article, we aim to highlight the possibility of finely tuning the catalytic performances by engineering the coordination spheres of single-atom sites and provide new insights into the further development for this emerging research field.