Advancing Next-Gen Energy Storage with Single-Atom Materials.

Single-atom materials (SAMs) are a fascinating class of nanomaterials with exceptional catalytic properties, offering immense potential for energy storage and conversion. This work explores their advantages, challenges, and underlying mechanisms, providing valuable insights for rational design. By precisely controlling active sites, SAMs enable efficient charge and energy transfer, ultimately enhancing system performance. In applications such as metal-ion batteries, supercapacitors, metal anodes, Li-S batteries, Na-S batteries, and metal-air batteries, SAMs effectively address key challenges, including volume change, dendrite formation, and capacity fading. Their unique electronic and structural properties also make them highly efficient electrocatalysts, demonstrating remarkable activity and selectivity in lithium polysulfide, oxygen reduction, and carbon dioxide reduction reactions. Finally, the challenges and future prospects of SAMs in the energy storage field are discussed. With ongoing research and development, SAMs are poised to revolutionize the field, serving as foundational elements in the transition to sustainable and clean energy.