Engineering the Local Coordination Environment of Single-Atom Catalysts and Their Applications in Photocatalytic Water Splitting:A Review

Single-atom catalysts(SACs),with atomically dispersed metal atoms anchored on a typical support,representing the utmost utilization effi ciency of the atoms,have recently emerged as promising catalysts for a variety of catalytic applications.The electronic properties of the active center of SACs are highly dependent on the local environment constituted by the single metal atom and its surrounding coordination elements.Therefore,engineering the coordination environment near single metal sites,from the fi rst coordination shell to the second shell or higher,would be a rational way to design effi cient SACs with optimized electronic structure for catalytic applications.The wide range of coordination confi gurations,guaranteed by the multiple choices of the type and heterogeneity of the coordination element(N,O,P,S,etc.),further off er a large opportunity to rationally design SACs for satisfactory activities and investigate the structure-performance relationship.In this review,the coordination engineering of SACs by varying the type of coordination element was elaborated and the photocatalytic water splitting of SACs was highlighted.Finally,challenging issues related to the coordination engineering of SACs and their photocatalytic applications were discussed to call for more eff orts devoted to the further development of single-atom catalysis.

Single‐atomic Co‐B_(2)N_(2)sites anchored on carbon nanotube arrays promote lithium polysulfide conversion in lithium-sulfur batteries

Due to low cost,high capacity,and high energy density,lithium–sulfur(Li–S)batteries have attracted much attention;however,their cycling performance was largely limited by the poor redox kinetics and low sulfur utilization.Herein,predicted by density functional theory calculations,single‐atomic Co‐B2N2 site‐imbedded boron and nitrogen co‐doped carbon nanotubes(SA‐Co/BNC)were designed to accomplish high sulfur loading,fast kinetic,and long service period Li–S batteries.Experiments proved that Co‐B2N2 atomic sites can effectively catalyze lithium polysulfide conversion.Therefore,the electrodes delivered a specific capacity of 1106 mAh g−1 at 0.2 C after 100 cycles and exhibited an outstanding cycle performance over 1000 cycles at 1 C with a decay rate of 0.032%per cycle.Our study offers a new strategy to couple the combined effect of nanocarriers and single‐atomic catalysts in novel coordination environments for high‐performance Li–S batteries.

Coordination engineering of cobalt phthalocyanine by functionalized carbon nanotube for efficient and highly stable carbon dioxide reduction at high current density

Coordination engineering can enhance the activity and stability of the catalyst in heterogeneous catalysis.However,the axial coordination engineering between different groups on the carbon carrier and molecular catalysts in the electrocatalytic carbon dioxide reduction reaction(CO_(2)RR)has been studied rarely.Through coordination engineering strategy,a series of amino(NH_(2)),hydroxyl(OH),and carboxyl(COOH)groups functionalized carbon nanotubes(CNT)immobilized cobalt phthalocyanine(CoPc)catalysts are designed.Compared with no groups,OH groups and COOH groups,NH_(2)groups can effectively change the coordination environment of the central metal Co,thereby significantly increasing the turnover frequency(TOF)(31.4 s^(-1)at-0.6 V vs.RHE,CoPc/NH_(2)-CNT>CoPc/OH-CNT>CoPc/COOH-CN>CoPc/CNT).In the flow cell,the CoPc/NH_(2)-CNT catalyst has high carbon monoxide(CO)selectivity at high current density(~100%at-225 mA·cm^(-2),~96%at-351 mA·cm^(-2)).Importantly,the CoPc/NH_(2)-CNT catalyst can operate stably for 100 h at 225 mA·cm^(-2).Theoretical calculations reveal that CoPc/NH_(2)-CNT catalyst is beneficial to the formation of^(*)COOH and desorption of^(*)CO,thus promoting CO_(2)RR.This work provides an excellent platform for understanding the effect of coordination engineering on electrocatalytic performance and promotes a way to explore efficient and stable catalysts in other applications.