Dual-Atomic-Site Catalysts for Molecular Oxygen Activation in Heterogeneous Thermo-/Electro-catalysis

Efficient molecular oxygen activation (MOA) is the key to environmentally friendly catalytic oxidation reactions. In the last decade, single-atomic-site catalysts (SASCs) with nearly 100 % atomic utilization and unique electronic structure have been widely investigated for MOA. However, the single active site makes the activation effect unsatisfactory and difficult to deal with complex catalytic reactions. Recently, dual-atomic-site catalysts (DASCs) have provided a new idea for the effective activation of molecular oxygen (O₂ ) due to more diverse active sites and synergetic interactions among adjacent atoms. In this review, we systematically summarized the recent research progress of DASCs for MOA in heterogeneous thermo- and electrocatalysis. Finally, we look forward to the challenges and application prospects in the construction of DASCs for MOA.