UC Berkeley

Catalysts development is an evolutionary process. The generation of new single-metal-site catalysts, with isolated metal atoms dispersed on the surface of substrates, offers maximum atom-utilization efficiency, high specific activity, and novel properties. The unique structure of single-site catalysts also enables their potential to bridge the gap between homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis. This field is at an early stage, characterized by important discoveries and novel demonstrations of catalytic properties associated with the fine structure of single metal sites; however, specific applications, especially catalytic hydrogenation reactions, are still lacking. The focus of this short review is on applications of single-site catalysts in the hydrogen economy based on our studies of hydrogen generation/storage via single-metal-site catalysts. We hope this work will inspire the development of single-site catalysts for other applications.