Progress in metal-organic-framework-based single-atom catalysts for environmental remediation

In 2011, Zhang’s research team discovered the first atomically dispersed Pt1/FeOx catalysts worldwide and proposed the concept of “single-atom catalysis”. The excellent atomic utilization rate of single-atom catalysts (SACs) in combination with their high specific catalytic activity makes them extremely appealing for environmental remediation. As research in this field has progressed, many methods of preparing SACs have emerged. However, strategies for the construction of high stability SACs with reasonable generality are still urgently needed to be developed. As metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) possess a well-defined structure and a high specific surface area, they can be considered viable and promising materials for the manufacture of SACs. MOF-based SACs can combine the advantages of SACs and MOFs, showing conspicuous performance in environment-related catalysis. In this review, we summarize the reported synthesis methods and explain how MOF-based SACs can be constructed according to their structural characteristics. We briefly examine accessibility characterization techniques for SACs. Additionally, several representative reports are presented on the successful preparation of MOF-based SACs for environmental remediation (mainly advanced oxidation processes (AOPs)). Finally, we conclude by suggesting several future development directions for MOF-based SACs.