Recent Progress in Single-Atom Catalysts for Photocatalytic Water Splitting

Photocatalytic water splitting can realize a direct conversion from solar energy into green hydrogen energy, which is conducive to effectively mitigate energy crisis and environmental issues. Single-atom catalysts (SACs) have shown great potential in photocatalytic hydrogen evolution, with unique geometric and electronic structures that help to boost mass and charge transfer during photocatalytic processes. Herein, recent advances of SACs in photocatalytic water splitting are focused upon. To decrease aggregation and realize sufficient utilization of metal atoms, different synthesis strategies for SACs are documented. For photocatalytic hydrogen evolution, the catalytic performances, active sites, and structure-property relationships of SACs including Al, Co, Ni, Pd, Ag, and Pt single sites are highlighted. The existing challenges and future directions of SACs in photocatalytic water splitting are provided.