The Opportunities and Challenges in Single‐Atom Catalysis

Abstract

Abstract The catalytic approaches fulfilled by the singly dispersed metal atoms anchoring on the solid materials were categorized as single‐atom catalysis. In this perspective, after briefly introducing the history in this research field, we compare the differences between single‐atom catalyst and several terms indicating some heterogeneous highly dispersed metal catalysts. Single‐atom catalysts could provide the simplified models in exploring the catalytically active structures, and a new era of designing catalysts at the atomic scale is thus opened. In this context, single‐atom catalysis may be regarded as a bridge to combine the homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis. Moreover, the materials containing isolated metal centers also provide great opportunities in many other applications, such as medicinal treatment, selective separation of gas molecule, and quantum devices. At last, challenges to the single‐atom catalysis are discussed.