Atomically dispersed metal site in subnanometric clusters catalyze dynamically

Recently in Nature Nanotechnology, Lu and co-workers reported that a linear metal trimer, consisting of a Ni atom bridged by two Cu atoms via hydroxyls, catalyzed the selective hydrogenation of acetylene with exceptionally higher activity and stability than did the monometallic Ni single-atom catalyst. The active Ni atom floated locally upon acetylene adsorption but was fully restored after ethylene desorption, showing a dynamic manner. This work demonstrates that the trimer catalyst is characterized by the highly isolated single site yet is electronically and spatially interacted among the metal atoms, and the work advances the design of atomically dispersed metal catalysts.