# Single-atom catalysis search log

Search date: 2026-09-16 (Asia/Shanghai)

## Scope

This was a fresh online search for primary research published in 2017–2022. Candidates had to connect evidence for isolated metal sites (atomic-resolution microscopy, X-ray absorption, site-specific spectroscopy, operando measurements, or controlled single-atom versus cluster/nanoparticle comparisons) with measured catalytic performance. The final set covers synthesis, thermal stability, reaction mechanism, and scale-up. Reviews, perspectives, editorials, and existing project/Library records were excluded.

No PDFs were downloaded. “Metadata + abstract” below means no full text was retrieved.

## Queries and sources

OpenAlex was attempted through the scholarly connector with these article searches, restricted to 2017–2022:

1. `single atom catalyst synthesis isolated metal sites`
2. `single atom catalyst thermal stability sintering high temperature`
3. `single atom catalyst reaction mechanism operando spectroscopy`
4. `single atom catalyst scale up scalable kilogram synthesis`

This source failed before returning records because the session lacked the required OpenAlex credential. It was not retried.

Web scholarly/publisher searches used:

1. `single atom catalyst synthesis 2017 2018 DOI isolated sites primary research`
2. `single atom catalyst thermal stability sintering 2019 2020 DOI primary research`
3. `single atom catalyst operando mechanism 2020 2021 DOI primary research`
4. `single atom catalyst scalable synthesis gram kilogram 2021 2022 DOI`
5. `site:nature.com single atom catalyst operando mechanism isolated metal atoms catalytic performance 2017..2022`
6. `site:pubs.acs.org single atom catalyst operando spectroscopy mechanism DOI 2019 2020`
7. `"single-atom catalyst" "mechanism" "operando" DOI`
8. `"single atom" catalyst "reaction mechanism" 2021 DOI primary research`
9. `"High-temperature shockwave stabilized single atoms" DOI authors`
10. `"Highly selective and robust single-atom catalyst Ru1/NC" DOI`
11. `"CO oxidation study on a Pt/CeO2 single atom catalyst" 10.1021/acscatal.1c01900`
12. `single atom catalyst synthesis 2017 primary research DOI atomically dispersed`

Sources consulted: Nature Portfolio article pages, ACS Publications, Wiley Online Library, PubMed/PMC, Crossref publisher-deposited metadata, and web search indexes linking to those records. Crossref metadata was retrieved successfully for all eight final DOIs.

## Eight verified candidates

### 1. Catalyst Architecture for Stable Single Atom Dispersion Enables Site-Specific Spectroscopic and Reactivity Measurements of CO Adsorbed to Pt Atoms, Oxidized Pt Clusters, and Metallic Pt Clusters on TiO₂

- **Authors:** Leo DeRita; Sheng Dai; Kimberly Lopez-Zepeda; Nicholas Pham; George W. Graham; Xiaoqing Pan; Phillip Christopher
- **Year / journal:** 2017, Journal of the American Chemical Society
- **DOI:** [10.1021/jacs.7b07093](https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.7b07093)
- **Original source:** https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jacs.7b07093
- **Why it fits:** A deliberately structured Pt/TiO₂ system enables site-specific spectroscopy and separates CO adsorption/reactivity of isolated Pt atoms from oxidized and metallic clusters. It directly tests whether measured reactivity can be assigned to isolated sites rather than a mixed population.
- **Retrieved:** Metadata + abstract; no full text.

### 2. High temperature shockwave stabilized single atoms

- **Authors:** Yonggang Yao; Zhennan Huang; Pengfei Xie; Lianping Wu; Lu Ma; Tangyuan Li; Zhenqian Pang; Miaolun Jiao; Zhiqiang Liang; Jinlong Gao; Yang He; Dylan Jacob Kline; Michael R. Zachariah; Chongmin Wang; Jun Lu; Tianpin Wu; Teng Li; Chao Wang; Reza Shahbazian-Yassar; Liangbing Hu
- **Year / journal:** 2019, Nature Nanotechnology
- **DOI:** [10.1038/s41565-019-0518-7](https://doi.org/10.1038/s41565-019-0518-7)
- **Original source:** https://www.nature.com/articles/s41565-019-0518-7
- **Why it fits:** Millisecond high-temperature shock treatment is presented as a general manufacturing route to thermally stable isolated atoms on multiple supports. Atomic-scale characterization links isolation after extreme processing to catalytic function.
- **Retrieved:** Metadata + abstract; no full text.

### 3. Non defect-stabilized thermally stable single-atom catalyst

- **Authors:** Rui Lang; Wei Xi; Jin-Cheng Liu; Yi-Tao Cui; Tianbo Li; Adam Fraser Lee; Fang Chen; Yang Chen; Lei Li; Lin Li; Jian Lin; Shu Miao; Xiaoyan Liu; Ai-Qin Wang; Xiaodong Wang; Jun Luo; Botao Qiao; Jun Li; Tao Zhang
- **Year / journal:** 2019, Nature Communications
- **DOI:** [10.1038/s41467-018-08136-3](https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-08136-3)
- **Original source:** https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-018-08136-3
- **Why it fits:** High-loading Pt atoms are stabilized on Fe₂O₃ by covalent metal–support interaction rather than pre-existing defects. Microscopy, spectroscopy, experiments, and DFT connect isolated Pt to methane-combustion performance and sinter resistance.
- **Retrieved:** Metadata + abstract; no full text.

### 4. Strong metal-support interaction promoted scalable production of thermally stable single-atom catalysts

- **Authors:** Kaipeng Liu; Xintian Zhao; Guoqing Ren; Tao Yang; Yujing Ren; Adam Fraser Lee; Yang Su; Xiaoli Pan; Jingcai Zhang; Zhiqiang Chen; Jingyi Yang; Xiaoyan Liu; Tong Zhou; Wei Xi; Jun Luo; Chaobin Zeng; Hiroaki Matsumoto; Wei Liu; Qike Jiang; Karen Wilson; Aiqin Wang; Botao Qiao; Weizhen Li; Tao Zhang
- **Year / journal:** 2020, Nature Communications
- **DOI:** [10.1038/s41467-020-14984-9](https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-14984-9)
- **Original source:** https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-14984-9
- **Why it fits:** The work explicitly tackles scalable production using strong metal–support interaction and reports thermally stable isolated sites. It bridges atom-trapping chemistry, heat resistance, and manufacturability.
- **Retrieved:** Metadata + abstract; no full text.

### 5. Temperature-Induced Structure Reconstruction to Prepare a Thermally Stable Single-Atom Platinum Catalyst

- **Authors:** Dongxu Yan; Jing Chen; Hongpeng Jia
- **Year / journal:** 2020, Angewandte Chemie International Edition
- **DOI:** [10.1002/anie.202004929](https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202004929)
- **Original source:** https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/anie.202004929
- **Why it fits:** Temperature-driven Mn₃O₄-to-Mn₂O₃ reconstruction anchors Pt atoms that remain isolated after 800 °C calcination for five days in humid air. Methane oxidation tests whether the exceptional structural stability remains catalytically useful.
- **Retrieved:** Metadata + abstract; no full text.

### 6. Iridium single-atom catalyst on nitrogen-doped carbon for formic acid oxidation synthesized using a general host–guest strategy

- **Authors:** Zhi Li; Yuanjun Chen; Shufang Ji; Yan Tang; Wenxing Chen; Ang Li; Jie Zhao; Yu Xiong; Yuen Wu; Yue Gong; Tao Yao; Wei Liu; Lirong Zheng; Juncai Dong; Yu Wang; Zhongbin Zhuang; Wei Xing; Chun-Ting He; Chao Peng; Weng-Chon Cheong; Qiheng Li; Maolin Zhang; Zheng Chen; Ninghua Fu; Xin Gao; Wei Zhu; Jiawei Wan; Jian Zhang; Lin Gu; Shiqiang Wei; Peijun Hu; Jun Luo; Jun Li; Chen Chen; Qing Peng; Xiangfeng Duan; Yu Huang; Xiao-Ming Chen; Dingsheng Wang; Yadong Li
- **Year / journal:** 2020, Nature Chemistry
- **DOI:** [10.1038/s41557-020-0473-9](https://doi.org/10.1038/s41557-020-0473-9)
- **Original source:** https://www.nature.com/articles/s41557-020-0473-9
- **Why it fits:** A general host–guest synthesis yields several M₁/N–C catalysts. For Ir₁/N–C, structural characterization, a direct nanoparticle comparison, electrochemistry, and DFT attribute high formic-acid-oxidation mass activity and CO tolerance to spatially isolated Ir and its modified electronic structure.
- **Retrieved:** Metadata + abstract; no full text.

### 7. Unraveling the Intermediate Reaction Complexes and Critical Role of Support-Derived Oxygen Atoms in CO Oxidation on Single-Atom Pt/CeO₂

- **Authors:** Yubing Lu; Shulan Zhou; Chun-Te Kuo; Deepak Kunwar; Coogan Thompson; Adam S. Hoffman; Alexey Boubnov; Sen Lin; Abhaya K. Datye; Hua Guo; Ayman M. Karim
- **Year / journal:** 2021, ACS Catalysis
- **DOI:** [10.1021/acscatal.1c01900](https://doi.org/10.1021/acscatal.1c01900)
- **Original source:** https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acscatal.1c01900
- **Why it fits:** In situ/operando EXAFS, XANES and DRIFTS, adsorption calorimetry, kinetics, and DFT follow Pt₁ complexes during CO oxidation. The study begins with exclusively isolated Pt, shows persistence during reaction, and links two Pt₁ states plus support-derived oxygen to the catalytic cycle.
- **Retrieved:** Metadata + abstract; no full text.

### 8. Scalable two-step annealing method for preparing ultra-high-density single-atom catalyst libraries

- **Authors:** Xiao Hai; Shibo Xi; Sharon Mitchell; Karim Harrath; Haomin Xu; Dario Faust Akl; Debin Kong; Jing Li; Zejun Li; Tao Sun; Huimin Yang; Yige Cui; Chenliang Su; Xiaoxu Zhao; Jun Li; Javier Pérez-Ramírez; Jiong Lu
- **Year / journal:** 2022 issue (online 2021), Nature Nanotechnology
- **DOI:** [10.1038/s41565-021-01022-y](https://doi.org/10.1038/s41565-021-01022-y)
- **Original source:** https://www.nature.com/articles/s41565-021-01022-y
- **Why it fits:** A standardized two-step annealing process achieves high single-atom densities across mono- and multimetallic libraries and is translated to an automated protocol. Experiments and simulations show how stepwise ligand removal suppresses aggregation; catalytic tests show retained function.
- **Retrieved:** Metadata + abstract; no full text.

## Journal-club coverage

- **Synthesis and site assignment:** DeRita 2017; Yao 2019; Li 2020.
- **Thermal stability:** Yao 2019; Lang 2019; Yan 2020.
- **Reaction mechanism:** Li 2020; Lu 2021.
- **Scale-up and reproducibility:** Liu 2020; Hai 2022.

Together, these papers support a comparison of evidentiary strength: ex situ imaging alone is weaker than site-specific controls or operando persistence of isolated sites; catalytic superiority is most persuasive when an otherwise comparable nanoparticle or clustered control is included.

## Missing evidence and limitations

- Scale-up evidence is less mature than synthesis and mechanism evidence. The selected papers demonstrate scalable or automated preparation, but the retrieved abstracts do not establish commercial-scale manufacture, kilogram output, or long-duration industrial operation.
- Full text was intentionally not retrieved, so details that appear only in methods, supplementary information, or figures were not used to strengthen claims.
- The literature-review skill’s optional style-lint helper could not be executed because its packaged kernel was not readable from the notebook sandbox; the log was manually checked instead.