Hollow microstructural regulation of single-atom catalysts for optimized electrocatalytic performance

Abstract

Single-atom catalysts (SACs) and hollow microstructured materials have recently undergone significant advancements in the field of catalysis. The combination of SACs and hollow microstructured materials can further endow them with extraordinary characteristics, such as high loadings, uniform active sites and unique metal-support interactions and electronic structures. In this review, we focus on the design and construction of SACs supported on hollow microstructured materials for enhancing electrocatalytic reactions. Due to these unique hollow microstructures, most of the active sites can be fully exposed in catalysis. Therefore, the atomic utilization rate is greatly improved. Furthermore, the synergistic effect of SACs and hollow microstructured supports can bring about unpredictable characteristics. The hollow microstructures not only adjust the geometry and electronic structure of the SACs to improve their activity but the SACs can also serve as an auxiliary stimulus to the intrinsic activity of the support to achieve better performance. Compared with the reported traditional dual atomic catalysts, hollow microstructures are conducive for the isolation of atomically dispersed binary atom active sites on both sides of the particle shell. Combined with the current development status, we summarize the challenges and prospects in this area. This review is conducive to the reasonable design and manufacture of advanced SACs supported on hollow materials and the promotion of their future industrial usage in energy applications.