journal article·2025-08

Electric bias-induced reversible configuration of single and heteronuclear dual-atom catalysts on 1Tʹ-MoS2

Jianhua Wu, Zhongxin Chen, Ke Yang, Xin Zhou, Huizhi Li, Zhiyong Wang, Mengyao Su, Rongrong Zhang, Tie Wang, Qikun Hu, Ning Yan, Cuibo Liu, Bin Zhang, Ming Yang, Shibo Xi, Kian Ping Loh

Nature Nanotechnology· Volume 20· Issue 8
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Abstract

The development of substrates capable of anchoring single-atom catalysts (SACs) while enabling their dynamic reconfiguration into heteronuclear dual-atom catalysts (DACs) holds considerable promise for electrochemical synthesis, yet remains underexplored. Here we show that electrochemical desulfurization of MoS2 generates vacancy-rich 1T' domains, which support high loadings of Cu (7.9 wt%) and Pt (6.7 wt%) SACs that are well-positioned for dynamic sintering to form DACs. Operando X-ray absorption spectroscopy and density functional theory calculations reveal a voltage-driven, reversible transformation between individual Pt/Cu SACs and Cu-Pt DAC configurations during hydrogen evolution reaction potentials. The electric-field-induced Cu-Pt DACs exhibit superior performance in the selective hydrogenation of alkynes compared with their monometallic SAC counterparts. This work underscores vacancy-enriched 1T'-MoS2 as a versatile platform for high-density SAC deposition, enabling on-demand structural reconfiguration and paving the way for tailored catalyst design in electrosynthesis.
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Research context

OpenAlex topics: Electrocatalysts for Energy Conversion · Electrochemical Analysis and Applications · 2D Materials and Applications

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