The Assembling Principle and Strategies of High-Density Atomically Dispersed Catalysts

Shuyan Zhao；Hengbo Yin；Huicong Xia；Gan Qu；Shasha Yi；Huan Pang；Wenfu Yan；Jianan Zhang；Shichun Mu

For a variety of electrocatalytic reactions, such as CO2 reduction, O2reduction/precipitation, N2 reduction, etc., the activity, selectivity and stability of electrocatalysts play a vital role in energy efficiency and system performance. Atomically dispersed catalysts (ADCs) have attracted much attention due to their high catalytic activity and selectivity. However, the ultra-high surface free energy of single atoms makes the easily formation of clusters or/and nanoparticles. Therefore, it is still a huge challenge to develop universal methods to stabilize the high-density atomically dispersed catalysts (HADCs). This review highlights and summarizes the assembling principle and universal strategies for the preparation of HADCs, such as metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) deriving, template-assisting, defects-trapping, wet-chemistry and heteroatom anchoring routes. Meanwhile, the applications of HADCs in energy conversion are systematically summarized. Significantly, the key to achieving mass production of HADCs through economical and efficient synthesis are discussed. Finally, the current challenges and future prospects of HADCs for preparation strategy are discussed. We sincerely believe that this review will provide an ideal guide and inspiration to theoretical and experimental design and prepare the HADCs.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2020.127917