In the field of catalysis for energy, it is of great significance for rational design of catalysts to accurately detect the dynamic process of catalysts at the atomic scale in its operando state. The research group of Professor Tao Yao from University of Science and Technology of China developed a variety of in-situ synchrotron radiation spectroscopy techniques based on photoelectron spectroscopy station for the dynamic process of catalytic reactions. Combining the experimental data with theoretical calculations, he studied the reaction mechanism of the active site structure of single atom reaction in the electrocatalytic energy conversion reaction. In the process of electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution, he found that the coordination between the metal single atom and the C/N atom in the support decreases, the interaction weakens, and the valence state of the metal atom is closer to zero, which reveals the kinetic behavior of the nearly free evolution of the metal single atom catalyst.

^{[Nature Commun.11:1029(2020); J.Phys.Chem.Lett.11:6691-6696(2020); J.Phys.Chem.C 124:2756-2761(2020)]} 

Figure 3. In-situ synchrotron radiation characterization and near-free structure evolution of single-atom Pt catalysts