Rare Earth Element Based Single-Atom Catalysts: Synthesis, Characterization and Applications in Photo/Electro-Catalytic Reactions

Rare earth elements play an important role in various fields, which has attracted increasing interest from the scientific community. Meanwhile, single-atom catalysts show huge advantages in many aspects compared with traditional nanomaterials due to their 100% atomic utilization efficiency. Thus, the combination of the two concepts has yielded an efficient way to realize the high-value utilization of rare earth. In this mini-review, rare earth-based single-atom catalysts including their synthesis methods, characterization manners and corresponding applications are constructively summarized and discussed. Especially, the important roles of rare earth elements as active centers in photo/electrocatalytic reactions are focused. Finally, future prospects are also provided.