Open AccessSingle Atom Catalysts: A Review of Characterization Methods
Author(s) -
Kottwitz Matthew,
Li Yuanyuan,
Wang Haodong,
Frenkel Anatoly I.,
Nuzzo Ralph G.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
chemistry ‐ methods
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2628-9725
DOI - 10.1002/cmtd.202100020
Subject(s) - characterization (materials science) , atom (system on chip) , nanotechnology , catalysis , chemical physics , x ray photoelectron spectroscopy , materials science , restructuring , field (mathematics) , chemistry , computer science , chemical engineering , mathematics , biochemistry , finance , engineering , economics , embedded system , pure mathematics
Single atom catalysts (SACs) harbor a potential to exceed nanoparticle catalysts in terms of activity, stability and selectivity in a growing number of chemical reactions. Although their investigation is attracting significant attention, important fundamental questions focusing on key physicochemical properties of SACs (e. g., structure – property relationships, structural dynamics, reaction‐driven restructuring) remain unanswered. A main challenge for research in the field is how to reliably characterize the environments of single atoms in the presence of complicating factors such as low weight loadings, strong metal‐support interactions, and atomic and multiscale heterogeneity of bonding in the single atom sites. This review addresses this challenge – identifying catalytically relevant features of physicochemical properties of single atoms (charge state, electronic structure, atomic configuration, bonding interactions with a support) and surveying advanced tools/methods for characterizing them. The review places a strong emphasis on multimodal methods exploiting X‐ray absorption, emission and photoelectron spectroscopies, and provides several examples from the authors’ research that demonstrate their use as powerful tools for SAC characterization.