Single-atom catalysts and their applications in organic chemistry

Abstract

Single-atom catalysts, providing 100% metal dispersion and maximized metal utilization, have recently emerged as a new class of catalysts for chemical and electrochemical reactions, with great potential for industrial catalysis in the future. The current key challenges in this field include how to develop scalable and economically viable approaches to synthesize highly active, selective and stable catalysts and how to further extend their applications in organic synthesis with high value-creation using these single-atom catalysts. In this review, we summarize recent advances in the field of single-atom catalysts, emphasizing on unique catalyst design strategies. A thorough discussion of the atomic and electronic structures of single-atom catalysts is presented to provide fundamental insights into their catalytic performances. The application of single-atom catalysts in organic chemistry is comprehensively discussed. Finally, the opportunities, challenges and potential applications of single-atom catalysts are addressed.