Singly dispersed transition metal atoms on oxide surfaces, the so-called single atom catalyst (SAC) have recently been shown to attain chemical activity and selectivity for several technologically important reactions that surpass those of Pt single crystal surfaces, the prototype exemplary catalyst but with a large price tag. Apart from being cost-effective, single atom catalyst offer excellent opportunities for tuning their local environment and thereby their oxidation state, local coordination, and electronic structure. In this talk, I will present results of collaborative work with several experimental groups on transition metal atoms anchored on surfaces, with and without ligands, that have the potential to be cost-effective catalysts with high activity and product selectivity.
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