Towards a library of atomically dispersed catalysts

Abstract

Atomically dispersed catalysts (ADCs) have emerged as a rising star of new materials, exhibiting remarkable catalytic efficiency, selectivity and recyclability. However, little is known about the atomic-scale mechanisms leading to the generic synthesis of fully exposed metals, the feasibility of tailoring metal’s coordination environments and the thermal robustness. Here we demonstrate the strong metal-support interactions (SMSI) as one of the key factors to universally construct a series of atomically dispersed single metals and synergetic bimetals for high-performance catalysts. The SMSI is realized through the anchoring effects of hybrid sp2- and sp3-carbons on the surface of nanodiamond@graphene (ND@G) support. Such SMSI assures the effective tuning of metal’s coordination numbers by means of either controlling mass loading or introducing complementary species. Furthermore, the impressive thermal stability of ND@G-supported Pt-Sn catalyst as well as the failure route are revealed by atomic-resolution in-situ observations. This work not only paves the way towards a library of highly tunable and stable ADCs, but also sheds light on the fundamental regulating principles for their industrial applications.