Zafar Anum, Shanmugam Sangaraju, Zhang Xinyi
Hubei Key Laboratory of Micro-Nanoelectronic Materials and Devices, School of Microelectronics, Hubei University, Wuhan, 430062, China.
National energy key laboratory for new hydrogen-ammonia energy technologies, Foshan Xianhu Laboratory, Foshan, 528200, China.
Small. 2025 Sep;21(37):e07483. doi: 10.1002/smll.202507483. Epub 2025 Jul 31.
Electrocatalytic CO reduction is one of the most promising pathways for addressing environmental and green energy concerns while converting CO into added value chemicals and fuels. For this purpose, single-atom catalysts (SACs) have emerged as highly active and selective classes of materials toward electrochemical CO reduction (CORR) due to their unique electronic properties, exposed active centers, and tunable coordination environment. Herein, a critical assessment of the recent development of SACs for CORR is presented. Rational design and synthetic strategies of SACs have been summarized. The interaction of ligands and modulation of both activity and selectivity with extensive analysis on local atomic structure and different SAC types is discussed. The reaction mechanisms of SACs based CORR and synergistic effect of SACs with nanoparticles and nanoclusters are also highlighted, emphasizing enhanced catalytic performance due to improved charge transfer, optimized binding of intermediates, and improved accessibility of the active site. Finally, the future perspective of SACs based CORR is provided.
电催化CO还原是解决环境和绿色能源问题的最有前景的途径之一，同时可将CO转化为高附加值的化学品和燃料。为此，单原子催化剂（SACs）因其独特的电子性质、暴露的活性中心和可调节的配位环境，已成为电化学CO还原（CORR）中具有高活性和选择性的一类材料。本文对用于CORR的SACs的最新进展进行了批判性评估。总结了SACs的合理设计和合成策略。讨论了配体的相互作用以及活性和选择性的调节，并对局部原子结构和不同类型的SACs进行了广泛分析。还强调了基于SACs的CORR的反应机理以及SACs与纳米颗粒和纳米团簇的协同效应，强调了由于电荷转移改善、中间体结合优化和活性位点可及性提高而增强的催化性能。最后，给出了基于SACs的CORR的未来展望。
