Recent advances of single-atom electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction

Sustainable, renewable and scalable production of highly pure hydrogen gas through hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in electrochemical water splitting requires efficient and stable electrocatalysts. Single atom catalysts (SACs) with significant merits such as the maximum atom-utilization efficiency, unique electronic structure and fascinating properties, are considered as promising candidates electrocatalysts for HER. Based on this, recent developments of effective synthetic methodology toward SACs are summarized. Subsequently, the synergistic coupling interaction between the catalytic activity and SACs including the perspective of coordination environment, local structural identification and metal-support interaction are highlighted. Finally, the current challenges and future opportunities are briefly addressed to improve the performance of single-atom electrocatalysts for HER, which might offer some insights for applications in hydrogen production.