School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, 99164, USA.
Key Laboratory of Pesticides and Chemical Biology, Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, 430079, P. R. China.
Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2017 Nov 6;56(45):13944-13960. doi: 10.1002/anie.201703864. Epub 2017 Oct 4.
Recent years have witnessed a dramatic increase in the production of sustainable and renewable energy. However, the electrochemical performances of the various systems are limited, and there is an intensive search for highly efficient electrocatalysts by more rational control over the size, shape, composition, and structure. Of particular interest are the studies on single-atom catalysts (SACs), which have sparked new interests in electrocatalysis because of their high catalytic activity, stability, selectivity, and 100 % atom utilization. In this Review, we introduce innovative syntheses and characterization techniques for SACs, with a focus on their electrochemical applications in the oxygen reduction/evolution reaction, hydrogen evolution reaction, and hydrocarbon conversion reactions for fuel cells (electrooxidation of methanol, ethanol, and formic acid). The electrocatalytic performance is further considered at an atomic level and the underlying mechanisms are discussed. The ultimate goal is the tailoring of single atoms for electrochemical applications.
近年来，可持续和可再生能源的产量显著增加。然而，各种系统的电化学性能受到限制，因此人们正在通过更合理地控制尺寸、形状、组成和结构，来寻找高效的电催化剂。特别值得关注的是对单原子催化剂（SAC）的研究，由于其具有高催化活性、稳定性、选择性和 100%原子利用率，因此在电催化领域引起了新的兴趣。在这篇综述中，我们介绍了 SAC 的创新合成和表征技术，重点介绍了它们在氧还原/析反应、析氢反应以及燃料电池中烃类转化反应（甲醇、乙醇和甲酸的电氧化）中的电化学应用。进一步从原子水平上考虑了电催化性能，并讨论了其潜在的机制。最终目标是为电化学应用定制单原子。
