Single-atom electrocatalysts designed for boosting hydrogen evolution reaction

The clean production of hydrogen could be achieved by water splitting as renewable energy. However, the cost of electrocatalysts for the vital hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is unaffordable due to indispensable requirements of noble metal. In this paper, we introduce the recent development of a new type of efficient electrocatalyst for boosting HER: Single atom catalysts (SACs). Namely, atomically dispersed metal atoms, serving as active sites, could be trapped on substrates including carbon-based supports, transition metal dichalcogenides, sulfides, phosphides, carbides, and alloys. With ultimate atom utilization and high catalytic activity, SACs might greatly contribute to the development of hydrogen energy in the future.