Production of reactive vacancies and metal single atoms in carbons materials

DESCRIPTION

Metal species with different size (single atoms, nanoclusters, and nanoparticles) show different catalytic behavior for various heterogeneous catalytic reactions. In particular, single atom catalysis (SAC) offers great potential for achieving high activity and selectivity. The formation of vacancies over carbon materials
is highly desired as they are potentially very interesting to stabilize metal single atoms or to confer specific properties.
The main challenges concern the mass production and scale-up.

This technology consists of a simple, straightforward chemical and up-scalable method of creation of vacancies in carbon materials and its direct utilization for the production of single atom dispersed materials. The different steps are :

• Oxidizing treatment of a carbon material that induces the formation of different types of surface oxygen function, in particular carboxylic groups
• Heat treatment under inert gas in order to obtain reactive vacancies
• Reaction with a metallic precursor in a solvent under inert gas

APPLICATIONS

• Catalysis
• Polymers
• Magnetic applications
• Biosensors