Emerging Strategies for the Synthesis of Correlated Single Atom Catalysts

Abstract

People have been looking for an energy‐efficient and sustainable method to produce future chemicals for decades. Heterogeneous single‐atom catalysts (SACs) with atomic dispersion of robust, well‐characterized active centers are highly desirable. In particular, correlated SACs with cooperative interaction between adjacent single atoms allow the switching of the single‐site pathway to the dual or multi‐site pathway, thus promoting bimolecular or more complex reactions for the synthesis of fine chemicals. Herein, we will feature the structural uniqueness of correlated SACs, including the inter‐metal distance and electronic interaction in homo/heteronuclear metal sites. We will summarize recent advances in the production methods of correlated SACs, showcasing the research status and challenges in traditional methods (such as pyrolysis, wet impregnation, and confined synthesis) for building a comprehensive multi‐metallic SAC library. Emerging strategies such as process automation and continuous‐flow synthesis are highlighted, minimizing the inconsistency in laboratory batch production and allowing high throughput screening and up‐scaling toward the next‐stage chemical production by correlated SACs.This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

Single atom-decorated transition metal oxide nanomaterials for efficient oxygen evolution reaction

“…This is insufficient to satisfy the industrial standard due to difficulty in upscaling and quality fluctuations. 121 In particular, aggregation and migration of the SAs into less active nanoparticles may occur owing to deviation in experimental parameters, which results in poor reproducibility of SACs synthesized in batches and in laboratories. At present, the essential strategy for resolving the inconsistency in the batch preparation of SACs is process automation.…”

“…117–120 Nowadays, the ion-exchange method is applied to synthesize SACs. 121 Li and co-workers designed a Cu 2 O-supported Rh SA catalyst through an ion-exchange method for the alkaline OER. 122 Fig.…”