Graphene aerogel keeps single-atom catalysts stable

Abstract

To get the most out of precious metals used as industrial catalysts, researchers try to disperse the metals as finely as possible on a support material. The smaller the particle, the larger the fraction of atoms that reside at the surface, where they are exposed and available to convert reactants to products. But tiny particles tend to be unstable. Under reaction conditions, they fuse with nearby particles, covering would-be active sites and thwarting efforts to maximize efficiency and cut costs. The same holds for single-atom catalysts. One way to keep the atoms or particles isolated is to put very few of them on the support, but that leads to relatively inactive catalysts. Ugur Unal and Alper Uzun of Koc University and their coworkers in the US may have come up with a way around that limitation. The researchers report that an easy-to-make, inexpensive graphene aerogel support firmly anchors high concentrations