Transition Metal Single Atoms Constructed by Using Inherent Confined Space

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Catalysis
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Single-atom catalysts (SACs) offer superior activity due to maximized atomic utilization.
• Developing facile, universal, and scalable methods for SAC preparation remains a significant challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To report a straightforward strategy for preparing SACs using the confined space within template-occupied mesoporous silica SBA-15.
• To demonstrate the generality and scalability of this novel preparation method.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing the confined space between a template and silica walls in SBA-15.
• Introducing transition metal precursors via grinding into the confined space.
• Calcination to form single atoms anchored as M-O-Si species (M = Cu, Co, Ni, Zn).
• Scaling up synthesis to 10 g via one-pot ball milling.

Main Results:

• Successfully synthesized various transition metal SACs (Cu, Co, Ni, Zn) with a general M-O-Si structure.
• Demonstrated the scalability of the method, producing 10 g of SACs.
• The synthesized Cu SAC exhibited significantly higher activity in CO2 cycloaddition of epichlorohydrin compared to catalysts prepared without confined space and other reported Cu catalysts.

Conclusions:

• The developed method provides a facile, universal, and scalable approach for SAC synthesis.
• This confined space strategy effectively constructs highly active single-atom sites.
• The synthesized SACs show promising catalytic performance, particularly for CO2 utilization reactions.