Single-site catalysts can demonstrate high activity and selectivity in many catalytic reactions. The synthesis of these materials by impregnation from strongly oxidizing aqueous solutions or pH-controlled deposition often leads to low metal loadings or a range of metal species. Here, we demonstrate that simple impregnation of the metal precursors onto activated carbon from a low-boiling-point, low-polarity solvent, such as acetone, results in catalysts with an atomic dispersion of cationic metal species. We show the generality of this method by producing single-site Au, Pd, Ru and Pt catalysts supported on carbon in a facile manner. Single-site Au/C catalysts have previously been validated commercially to produce vinyl chloride, and here we show that this facile synthesis method can produce effective catalysts for acetylene hydrochlorination in the absence of the highly oxidizing acidic solvents previously used.

单中心催化剂可以在许多催化反应中表现出高活性和选择性。通过从强氧化性水溶液中浸渍或通过pH值控制的沉积来合成这些材料，通常会导致较低的金属负载量或一定范围的金属种类。在这里，我们证明了将金属前体从低沸点，低极性溶剂（如丙酮）简单地浸渍到活性炭上，会导致催化剂具有阳离子金属物种的原子分散性。我们通过以简便的方式生产载于碳上的单中心Au，Pd，Ru和Pt催化剂，表明了该方法的一般性。单中心Au / C催化剂先前已通过商业验证，可生产氯乙烯，