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Updated: May 29, 2026

Tracking Electrochemistry on Single Nanoparticles with Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering Spectroscopy and Microscopy
Published on: May 12, 2023
Beyond active sites: single-atom promoters for advanced electrocatalysis.
Yezhou Hu1, Li Zeng1, Shu-Feng Zhang1
1Key Laboratory of Catalysis and Energy Materials Chemistry of Ministry of Education & Hubei Key Laboratory of Catalysis and Materials Science, School of Chemistry and Materials Science, South-Central Minzu University, Wuhan 430074, P. R. China. huyezhou@mail.scuec.edu.cn.
Single-atom promoters (SAPs) enhance electrocatalyst performance by modifying host catalysts, unlike single-atom catalysts. This review details SAP mechanisms, design, and applications in energy conversion technologies.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Electrochemistry
- Catalysis
Background:
- Single-atom catalysts (SACs) offer high atom utilization but can face stability issues.
- Optimizing catalyst performance often compromises active site availability.
- Single-atom promoters (SAPs) offer a novel approach to enhance catalyst function without replacing active sites.
Purpose of the Study:
- To provide a comprehensive review of single-atom promoter (SAP) modified electrocatalyst systems.
- To differentiate SAPs from single-atom catalysts (SACs) and elucidate their distinct roles.
- To summarize design principles, synthesis strategies, and characterization techniques for SAP-based catalysts.
Main Methods:
- Literature review and analysis of existing research on SAPs.
- Classification of SAPs based on spatial configuration (all-in-one and combined types).
- Discussion of promotion mechanisms including electronic, structural, and relay effects.
Main Results:
- SAPs enhance host catalyst performance through electronic, structural, and relay effects.
- SAPs preserve the integrity of active sites, overcoming a limitation of traditional optimization.
- SAP-modified catalysts show promise in key electrocatalytic reactions like HER, OER, CO2RR, and biomass conversion.
Conclusions:
- SAPs represent a powerful strategy for tuning electrocatalyst performance.
- Further research is needed in rational design, operando mechanism studies, and scalable synthesis.
- SAPs hold significant potential for advancing efficient energy conversion technologies.
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