Single-atom catalysts boost radical-mediated organic synthesis

Radical-mediated organic synthesis offers mild and sustainable routes to complex molecules, but conventional metal catalysts often suffer from limited activity, selectivity and recyclability. Single-atom catalysts, featuring atomically dispersed metal centres and well-defined coordination environments, provide an efficient platform for single-electron transfer, radical generation and intermediate stabilisation. This review summarises recent advances in single-atom-catalysed radical transformations, with emphasis on catalyst design, characterisation and mechanistic insight, and outlines key challenges and opportunities for developing sustainable radical methodologies based on single-atom catalysis.