Nonprecious-metal heterogeneous catalysts with atomically dispersed active sites demonstrated high activity and selectivity in different reactions, and the rational design and large-scale preparation of such catalysts are of great interest but remain a huge challenge. Current approaches usually involve extremely high-temperature and tedious procedures. Here, we demonstrated a straightforward and scalable preparation strategy. In two simple steps, the atomically dispersed Ni electrocatalyst can be synthesized in a tens grams scale with quantitative yield under mild conditions, and the active Ni sites were produced by immobilizing preorganized NiNx complex on the substrate surface via organic thermal reactions. This catalyst exhibits excellent catalysis performances in both oxygen evolution and reduction reactions. It also exhibited tunable catalysis activity, high catalysis reproducibility, and high stability. The atomically dispersed NiNx sites are tolerant at high Ni concentration, as the random reactions and metal nanoparticle formation that generally occurred at high temperatures were avoided. This strategy illustrated a practical and green method for the industrial manufacture of nonprecious-metal single-site catalysts with a predictable structure.
Keywords: atomically dispersed heterogeneous catalyst; electrocatalysis; nickel single site; scalable production; surface immobilization.