Single-atom catalysis for advanced oxidation and reduction systems in water decontamination

Water scarcity is an escalating global crisis, posing a severe threat to populations worldwide. Consequently, exploring various materials to remove emerging contaminants from freshwater sources has garnered significant attention. In this regard, single-atom catalysis (SACs) has emerged as a catalyst of scientific progress in water purification and treatment methodologies during recent decades. SACs exhibit exceptional catalytic activity, selectivity and stability, due to their near-perfect atom utilization, highly unsaturated coordination environment and uniform reaction centers. However, a comprehensive and critical review encompassing the successful integration of SACs into water purification processes needs to be completed. This review aims to accentuate recent trends by presenting the synthesis, structure, and environment and energy application-relevant properties of SACs. The results show that a comprehensive and multi-perspective summary of the advantages of SACs in environmental remediation can have significant benefits, such as fast kinetics, cost-effectiveness, selectivity. The oxidation and reduction processes of SACs and functional SACs materials in water purification were emphasized. Furthermore, the last section is devoted to the current research gaps and further perspectives on the application of SACs in water treatment, which are summarized and analyzed.