Single-Atom Catalysts for Green Energy Conversions

A special issue of Catalysts (ISSN 2073-4344). This special issue belongs to the section "Catalysis for Sustainable Energy".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2026 | Viewed by 6

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Institute of Molecular Plus, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
2. National Industry-Education Platform for Energy Storage, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300350, China
Interests: single atom; cluster; catalyst design; energy catalytic conversion; hydrogen production; water electrolysis; fuel cells; plastic resource utilization; electro/photocatalytic CO2 reduction (CO2RR)
College of Materials Science and Technology, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 210016, China
Interests: nanocatalyst design; single atom; CO2 reduction; water splitting
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Fossil fuels are responsible for the production of more than 80% of the world’s energy, which is contributing to ecological damage and climate change. Renewable energy sources have emerged as promising alternatives, offering the potential for clean energy production and electrochemical conversion into value-added chemicals. Catalysts can accelerate the chemical reaction rate and effectively promote energy transformation, which is of great significance in the research of chemical industry and material science. Among these catalysts, single-atom catalysts have a clear atomic structure which his characteristic of an active center, providing accurate configurations for a deeper understanding of catalytic mechanisms at the atomic scale, and also bringing new opportunities for precise regulation of reaction activity and selectivity.

We welcome any original research articles, reviews, and perspectives that highlight recent progress in the following areas, although these do not have to be limited to these topics:

  • Rational design and synthesis of single-atom catalysts catalytic materials;
  • Advanced ex/in situ characterization techniques for exploring “structure–activity” relationships;
  • AI combined with theoretical simulation to guide the synthesis of SAC.

Performance optimization in key reactions, including (but not limited to):

  • Electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution and oxidation (HER/HOR);
  • Oxygen evolution and reduction (OER/ORR);
  • Electro/photocatalytic CO2 reduction (CO₂RR);
  • Electro/photocatalytic nitrate reduction (NO3RR) and ammonia synthesis;
  • Photocatalytic hydrogen evolution and H2O2 synthesis;
  • Plastic conversion and resource utilization;
  • CO2 hydrogenation;
  • Fischer–Tropsch synthesis;
  • Hydrocracking;
  • Electro/photocatalytic organic molecule transformations and biomass upgrading.

Dr. Ligang Wang
Dr. Feng Hu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • single-atom catalysts
  • energy catalytic conversion
  • electro/photocatalytic
  • advanced ex/in situ characterization
  • thermal catalytic conversion

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Published Papers

This special issue is now open for submission.
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