Single-atom catalysts: From atomic-level engineering to application
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PUBLIC SUMMARY
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Covering atomic-level modulation and characterization of single-atom catalysts (SACs).
Linking atomic configurations of SACs to catalytic mechanisms and performance metrics.
Addressing challenges in translating SACs from laboratory research to practical device integration.
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ABSTRACT
Single-atom catalysts (SACs), featuring atomically dispersed metal active sites, have recently emerged as a new frontier in catalysis science. By maximizing atom-utilization efficiency and enabling precise modulation of active-site structures, SACs demonstrate broad application potential across diverse important fields including catalysis, energy storage, and biomedicine. Beginning by tracing the evolutionary trajectory of single-atom catalysis, this review expands its discussion to encompass strategies for modulating single-atom active sites, techniques for synthesizing atomically dispersed metals, and advanced characterization methods for atomic-level analysis. Furthermore, this paper systematically reviews recent advances in SACs for energy, environmental, and biological applications, covering cutting-edge processes such as water electrolysis, advanced battery, pollutant degradation and biosensing. A central focus on correlating active-site structures with catalytic mechanisms and performance provides this review with a distinctive perspective. In light of the ongoing challenges associated with the transition from laboratory-scale research to device integration, this article proposes potential solutions and future research directions, offering a theoretical foundation and technical pathway for the rational design of high-performance single-atom catalytic systems. -
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Fan C., Cui C., Hu J., et al. (2026). Single-atom catalysts: From atomic-level engineering to application. The Innovation Materials 4:100225. https://doi.org/10.59717/j.xinn-mater.2026.100225
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Fan C., Cui C., Hu J., et al. (2026). Single-atom catalysts: From atomic-level engineering to application. The Innovation Materials 4:100225. https://doi.org/10.59717/j.xinn-mater.2026.100225
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Figure 1.
Timeline of the development process of single-atom catalysis.6-11
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Figure 2.
Schematic summary for the construction strategies of single-atom active sites.
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Figure 3.
Schematic illustration of the synthetic strategies to SACs.
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Figure 4.
Visualization of isolated metal atoms
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Figure 5.
Analysis of coordination environment and electronic properties
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Figure 6.
Theoretical calculations
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Figure 7.
SACs in water splitting
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Figure 8.
The application in ORR
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Figure 9.
Application of SACs in the degradation of organic pollutants
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Figure 10.
SACs for advanced battery technologies
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Figure 11.
In vivo monitoring of neurochemicals with SACs
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Figure 12.
Schematic illustration of challenges and prospects of SACs.
