Metal oxides confine single atoms toward efficient thermal catalysis

Single-atom catalysts (SACs) have drawn the attention of material scientists due to their high atomic-scale utilization efficiency and excellent thermal catalytic activity and selectivity. Metal oxides stand out as one of the most appealing candidates among the viable scaffold materials for anchoring single atoms due to their compositional and structural flexibility and stability during the catalytic process even at high temperatures. Thus, enormous efforts have been devoted to preparing metal oxides that confine single atoms for thermal catalytic applications. This review summarizes extensive knowledge of metal oxides that confine single atoms in thermal catalytic reactions. The mechanisms of thermal catalytic oxidation over SACs are described first, followed by a review of thermal catalytic applications in selective hydrogenation, methane oxidation, carbon monoxide oxidation, NOx conversion, alcohol oxidation, and water gas shift reaction. Finally, conclusions and future perspectives for improving the catalytic activity and selectivity of SACs are well stated.