Photo-induced synthesis of heteronuclear dual-atom catalysts

Dual-atom catalysts (DACs) have garnered significant interest due to their high atom utilization and synergistic catalysis. However, there is no universal synthetic method to precisely synthesize DACs. Here we propose a ‘navigation and positioning’ strategy for precise and scalable synthesis of a series of heteronuclear M₁M₂ DACs on polymeric carbon nitride (PCN). The primary nucleation sites, M₁-PCN, were created by calcining urea and M₁ metal salts. Upon light irradiation, the accumulated photoelectrons at the M₁ site can navigate and position the second metal ion, M₂, close to the M₁ site, enabling the precise synthesis of heteronuclear DACs. Density functional theory calculations demonstrate that the hybridization of the Zn s orbital (M₁) and Ru d orbital (M₂) benefits the formation of stable ZnRu DAC on PCN. The ZnRu DACs were then investigated for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution. It was shown that the Ru site reduced H⁺ to H* and the Zn site acted as the H* desorption site, thus synergistically boosting activity.