Single-atom catalysts exhibit intriguing properties and receive widespread interest for their effectiveness in promoting a variety of catalytic reactions, making them highly desired motifs in materials science. However, common approaches to the synthesis of these materials often require tedious procedures and lack appropriate interactions between the metal atoms and supports. Here, we report a simple and practical strategy to access the large-scale synthesis of single-atom catalysts via direct atoms emitting from bulk metals, and the subsequent trapping on nitrogen-rich porous carbon with the assistance of ammonia. First, the ammonia coordinates with the copper atoms to form volatile Cu(NH₃)_x species based on the strong Lewis acid–base interaction. Then, following transportation under an ammonia atmosphere, the Cu(NH₃)_x species are trapped by the defects on the nitrogen-rich carbon support, forming the isolated copper sites. This strategy is readily scalable and has been confirmed as feasible for producing functional single-atom catalysts at industrial levels.

单原子催化剂表现出令人着迷的特性，并因其在促进各种催化反应中的有效性而受到广泛关注，使它们成为材料科学中非常需要的基序。但是，合成这些材料的常用方法通常需要繁琐的过程，并且在金属原子和载体之间缺乏适当的相互作用。在这里，我们报告了一种简单实用的策略，可通过从散装金属中释放出的直接原子来大规模合成单原子催化剂，并随后借助氨将其捕获在富氮多孔碳上。首先，氨与铜原子配位形成挥发性的Cu（NH ₃）_x基于强路易斯酸碱相互作用的物种。然后，在氨气气氛下运输后，Cu（NH ₃）_x物种被富氮碳载体上的缺陷捕获，形成了孤立的铜位。该策略易于扩展，并且已被证实对于在工业水平上生产功能性单原子催化剂是可行的。