A single iron site confined in a graphene matrix for the catalytic oxidation of benzene at room temperature

Coordinatively unsaturated (CUS) iron sites are highly active in catalytic oxidation reactions; however, maintaining the CUS structure of iron during heterogeneous catalytic reactions is a great challenge. Here, we report a strategy to stabilize single-atom CUS iron sites by embedding highly dispersed FeN4 centers in the graphene matrix. The atomic structure of FeN4 centers in graphene was revealed for the first time by combining high-resolution transmission electron microscopy/high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy with low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy. These confined single-atom iron sites exhibit high performance in the direct catalytic oxidation of benzene to…

• NN
  National Natural Science Foundation of China

  Awards: ID0EY3GK3680, 51420105003, ID0E3XGK3679, ID0EWSGK3678, 21303191, 21321002