Structural evolution of single-atom catalysts

Single-atom catalysis has been one of the most active frontiers in heterogeneous catalysis. More and more works have demonstrated that single-atom catalysts (SACs) tend to undergo structural evolution in response to reaction conditions. Identifying the structural evolution of SACs during real reactions is crucial to addressing fundamental issues such as active sites, metal-support interactions, and mechanisms of deactivation and thereby guiding the design and fabrication of better-performance SACs. In this perspective, we discuss characteristics of structural evolution of SACs and analyze the driving force and major factors determining the structural dynamics with an aim to provide a deep insight into the catalytic nature of SACs.