Application of One-Dimensional Nanomaterials in Catalysis at the Single-Molecule and Single-Particle Scale.

Saisai Yuan,Qitao Zhang

doi:10.3389/fchem.2021.812287

Abstract

The morphology of nanomaterials has a great influence on the catalytic performance. One-dimensional (1D) nanomaterials have been widely used in the field of catalysis due to their unique linear morphology with large specific surface area, high electron-hole separation efficiency, strong light absorption capacity, plentiful exposed active sites, and so on. In this review, we summarized the recent progress of 1D nanomaterials by focusing on the applications in photocatalysis and electrocatalysis. We highlighted the advanced characterization techniques, such as scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), surface photovoltage microscopy (SPVM), single-molecule fluorescence microscopy (SMFM), and a variety of combined characterization methods, which have been used to identify the catalytic action of active sites and reveal the mechanism of 1D nanomaterials. Finally, the challenges and future directions of the research on the catalytic mechanism of single-particle 1D nanomaterials are prospected. To our best knowledge, there is no review on the application of single-molecule or single-particle characterization technology to 1D nanomaterial catalysis at present. This review provides a systematic introduction to the frontier field and opens the way for the 1D nanomaterial catalysis.

Highlights

One-dimensional (1D) nanomaterial is a special structure of substance in nanometer scale and is a key branch of nanomaterial systems
We summarized the recent progress of 1D nanomaterials by focusing on the applications in photocatalysis and electrocatalysis
The 1D-nanostructured materials that can be applied to catalysis in the form of single molecule and single particle were summarized as three types: 1) monitoring of catalytic reactions on individual particles using the single-molecule fluorescence microscopy (SMFM) technique; 2) visualization of photogenerated charge distribution of a single particle using the kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM)/surface photovoltage microscopy (SPVM) technique; and 3) morphological analysis of single particles and single atoms using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) techniques

Summary

Introduction

One-dimensional (1D) nanomaterial is a special structure of substance in nanometer scale and is a key branch of nanomaterial systems. It is an ideal strategy to directly apply characterization techniques to the real complex surface catalytic systems, especially to study the surface structure of the catalyst and the surface process of the catalytic reaction at the single-molecule scale.

Results

Conclusion