Photoinduced Atomic Dispersion of Noble Metal Nanoparticles

Photoinduced Atomic Dispersion of Noble Metal Nanoparticles | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Photoinduced Atomic Dispersion of Noble Metal Nanoparticles Zhenfeng Bian, Xiang Chen, Qingfei Zhao, Jingyuan Zhang, Kehan Zhou, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7444212/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 14 Mar, 2026 Read the published version in Nature Communications → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The transformation of noble metal nanoparticles into atomically dispersed catalysts has been a long-standing goal to enhance metal utilization and regenerate the activity of agglomerated catalysts. Traditional methods, however, often require high temperatures, specific atmospheres, or complex chemical processes. Here, we present a novel, photoinduced strategy that achieves atomic dispersion of noble metal nanoparticles under ambient conditions. Experimental results and density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that chlorine radicals (•Cl) generated during the reaction reduce the electron density around Pd atoms. This, in combination with the attack of •O 2 − , facilitates Pd-Pd bond cleavage. The intermediate [PdCl 4 ] 2− species formed adsorbs onto TiO 2 via electrostatic interactions and, upon dechlorination, stabilizes into a single-atom Pd 1 -N 2 O 1 structure. This method is applicable to various noble metals (Pd, Pt, Rh) and significantly enhances the catalytic activity of both commercial Pd/C and industrial waste Pd/C catalysts by 17.8-fold and 26-fold, respectively, in the hydrogenation of styrene. This approach offers a simple, green, and sustainable solution for advancing catalytic technologies. Physical sciences/Chemistry/Catalysis/Heterogeneous catalysis Physical sciences/Chemistry/Catalysis/Catalytic mechanisms Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files SupportingInformation.doc Supporting Information Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 14 Mar, 2026 Read the published version in Nature Communications → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7444212","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":512439982,"identity":"f80ec3c9-3f35-4425-84fa-9d92ee4569ad","order_by":0,"name":"Zhenfeng 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Traditional methods, however, often require high temperatures, specific atmospheres, or complex chemical processes. Here, we present a novel, photoinduced strategy that achieves atomic dispersion of noble metal nanoparticles under ambient conditions. Experimental results and density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that chlorine radicals (\u0026bull;Cl) generated during the reaction reduce the electron density around Pd atoms. This, in combination with the attack of \u0026bull;O\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u003c/sup\u003e, facilitates Pd-Pd bond cleavage. The intermediate [PdCl\u003csub\u003e4\u003c/sub\u003e]\u003csup\u003e2\u0026minus;\u003c/sup\u003e species formed adsorbs onto TiO\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e via electrostatic interactions and, upon dechlorination, stabilizes into a single-atom Pd\u003csub\u003e1\u003c/sub\u003e-N\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e1\u003c/sub\u003e structure. This method is applicable to various noble metals (Pd, Pt, Rh) and significantly enhances the catalytic activity of both commercial Pd/C and industrial waste Pd/C catalysts by 17.8-fold and 26-fold, respectively, in the hydrogenation of styrene. This approach offers a simple, green, and sustainable solution for advancing catalytic technologies.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Photoinduced Atomic Dispersion of Noble Metal Nanoparticles","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-09-10 03:12:28","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7444212/v1","editorialEvents":[],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"nature-communications","isNatureJournal":true,"hasQc":false,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"NCOMMS","sideBox":"Learn more about [Nature Communications](http://www.nature.com/ncomms/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"https://mts-ncomms.nature.com/","title":"Nature Communications","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"ejp","reportingPortfolio":"Nature Communications","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"43c8cdd6-9a51-4c1c-8da4-3179587731fd","owner":[],"postedDate":"September 10th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"published-in-journal","subjectAreas":[{"id":54429124,"name":"Physical sciences/Chemistry/Catalysis/Heterogeneous catalysis"},{"id":54429125,"name":"Physical sciences/Chemistry/Catalysis/Catalytic mechanisms"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-04-30T07:07:38+00:00","versionOfRecord":{"articleIdentity":"rs-7444212","link":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-70742-3","journal":{"identity":"nature-communications","isVorOnly":false,"title":"Nature Communications"},"publishedOn":"2026-03-14 04:00:00","publishedOnDateReadable":"March 14th, 2026"},"versionCreatedAt":"2025-09-10 03:12:28","video":"","vorDoi":"10.1038/s41467-026-70742-3","vorDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-70742-3","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-7444212","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-7444212","identity":"rs-7444212","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}