Electrosynthesis of fuels and value-added chemicals has received much attention as a viable alternative to decentralizing traditional chemical industries. Water is regarded as an environmentally friendly solvent with abundant protons and hydroxide ions, and its use in synthetic chemistry has been particularly encouraged. However, when water is present in electrosynthesis, the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) generally occurs as a side reaction, resulting in unfavorable faradaic efficiency. Due to their high atomic utilization, unsaturated coordination environments, and unique electronic structures, single-atom catalysts (SACs) have recently emerged as promising catalysts which could dramatically enhance selectivity and regulate reaction pathways. This perspective presents design principles of SACs with HER-suppressed behavior for carbon-dioxide reduction, ammonia synthesis, and other important reactions. We also discuss future research on the development of SACs that will be advanced with perspectives on innovative technologies in modeling, fabrication, and characterization for various electrosynthetic reactions.

燃料和增值化学品的电合成作为分散传统化学工业的可行替代方案受到了广泛关注。水被认为是一种环境友好的溶剂，具有丰富的质子和氢氧根离子，特别鼓励其在合成化学中的应用。然而，当电合成中存在水时，析氢反应（HER）通常作为副反应发生，导致不利的法拉第效率。由于其高原子利用率、不饱和配位环境和独特的电子结构，单原子催化剂（SACs）最近成为一种很有前途的催化剂，可以显着提高选择性并调节反应途径。该观点介绍了具有 HER 抑制行为的 SAC 的设计原则，用于二氧化碳还原、氨合成和其他重要反应。我们还讨论了关于 SAC 发展的未来研究，这些研究将在各种电合成反应的建模、制造和表征方面的创新技术方面取得进展。