Advancing single-atom catalysts: engineered metal-organic platforms on surfaces

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel single atom platform (SAP) with atomically precise and thermally stable metal sites on carbon-based polymers, enhancing catalytic activity and selectivity for gas trapping and conversion.

Contribution

The study presents a new on-surface synthesis method to create stable, precisely coordinated single atom catalysts on organic templates, advancing nanoscale fabrication for catalysis.

Findings

SAP exhibits high stability at elevated temperatures.

SAP effectively traps CO and CO2 gases at low temperatures.

Structural tuning of coordination sites enables tailored catalytic functionalities.

Abstract

Recent advances in nanomaterials have pushed the boundaries of nanoscale fabrication to the limit of single atoms (SAs), particularly in heterogeneous catalysis. Single atom catalysts (SACs), comprising minute amounts of transition metals dispersed on inert substrates, have emerged as prominent materials in this domain. However, overcoming the tendency of these SAs to cluster beyond cryogenic temperatures and precisely arranging them on surfaces pose significant challenges. Employing organic templates for orchestrating and modulating the activity of single atoms holds promise. Here, we introduce a novel single atom platform (SAP) wherein atoms are firmly anchored to specific coordination sites distributed along carbon-based polymers, synthesized via on-surface synthesis (OSS). These SAPs exhibit atomiclevel structural precision and stability, even at elevated temperatures. The asymmetry in the electronic states at the active sites anticipates the enhanced reactivity of these precisely defined reactive centers. Upon exposure to CO and CO2 gases at low temperatures, the SAP demonstrates excellent trapping capabilities. Fine-tuning the structure and properties of the coordination sites offers unparalleled flexibility in tailoring functionalities, thus opening avenues for previously untapped potential in catalytic applications.