Single-Atom Catalysts: A Perspective toward Application in Electrochemical Energy Conversion

Single-atom catalysts
(SACs) hold great promise for maximized metal
utilization, exceptional tunability of the catalytic site, and selectivity.
Moreover, they can substantially contribute to lower the cost and
abundancy challenges associated with raw materials. Significant breakthroughs
have been achieved over the past decade, for instance, in terms of
synthesis methods for SACs, their catalytic activity, and the mechanistic
understanding of their functionality. Still, great challenges lie
ahead in order to render them viable for application in important
fields such as electrochemical energy conversion of renewable electrical
energy. We have identified three particular development fields for
advanced SACs that we consider crucial, namely, the scale-up of the
synthesis, the understanding of their performance in real devices
such as fuel cells and electrolyzers, and the understanding and mitigation
of their degradation. In this Perspective, we review recent activities
of the community and provide our outlook with respect to the aspects
required to bring SACs toward application.