Single-Atom Catalysts at the Crossroads: Navigating the Path from Laboratory Synthesis to Real-World Devices

Single-atom catalysts (SACs) demonstrate immense potential in energy conversion and environmental remediation due to their extreme atomic utilization and well-defined active sites. However, transitioning SACs from laboratory research to industrial applications remains challenging because scalable and controllable synthesis must be achieved while ensuring stability and seamless integration into functional devices. This review systematically summarizes recent advances in large-scale synthesis strategies for SACs, with a focus on the scientific principles governing precursor design, coordination environment modulation, and support interactions in determining the final atomic dispersion, metal loading, and stability across various synthesis routes, such as pyrolysis, molten salt templating, and ball-milling. Furthermore, the advantages of emerging techniques, such as Joule heating, microwave, and low-temperature synthesis, in the precise construction of active sites are thoroughly examined. Importantly, this review prospectively outlines design pathways for industrial applications, scalable synthesis routes utilizing waste materials, and integration strategies of SACs into catalytic membranes and electrochemical devices. These approaches effectively address key bottlenecks, including mass transfer limitations, catalyst recovery, and process scale-up. This review aims to provide a framework and theoretical guidance for the structure–function relationship from atomic structure to macroscopic performance, facilitating the transition of SACs from laboratory applications to industrial applications.