Synthesis, characterization and application of monatomic catalysts

Supported metal nanocatalysts are the most commonly used catalysts in the research area of industrial heterogeneous catalysis. The size of metal particles is an important factor in determining its catalytic performance. Because coordinative unsaturated metals often show the relatively high catalytic activity, the specific activity of each metal atom commonly increases with decreasing the particle size. The limit of metal dispersion is the dispersion of single atom, in other words, that is the single-atom catalyst. The monatomic catalyst takes most advantage of the activity of the metal particles with maximum efficiency, which is particularly important for the novel metals. In addition, the single atom catalyst has high selectivity and high performance of catalysis. The preparation, characterization and study of catalytic properties of the monatomic catalysts supported on metal oxides, metals and graphene are mainly described here and their application in oxidation, water gas reaction and hydrogenation reaction is studied. The spatial distribution of the single atom and the interaction with the substrate are also discussed. This monatomic catalyst shows great potential for industrial application.