Thinning materials down to atomic thickness can endow them with unusual physiochemical properties and make for intriguing applications. Although a number of two-dimensional graphene analogs have been developed, preparing atomically thin metallic materials remains a significant, practical challenge. Recently in Nature, Luo et al. successfully synthesized a freestanding 4-atomic-thick PdMo bimetallene and demonstrated a record electrocatalytic oxygen reduction reaction activity in alkaline electrolyte. We conclude that this bimetallene will provide an ideal model to investigate the active-site catalytic-activity relationship and to optimize electrocatalytic performance at the atomic level. Future synthesis of noble-metal-free metallene (e.g., Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, and Mo) is anticipated.

将材料减薄到原子厚度可以使它们具有不同寻常的理化特性，并可以用于有趣的应用中。尽管已经开发出许多二维石墨烯类似物，但是制备原子上薄的金属材料仍然是重大而实际的挑战。Luo等，最近在《自然》杂志上发表。成功地合成了一个独立的4原子厚的PdMo双金属化合物，并证明了在碱性电解质中具有创纪录的电催化氧还原反应活性。我们得出的结论是，这种双金属化合物将提供一个理想的模型，以研究活性位催化活性之间的关系，并在原子水平上优化电催化性能。预计将来会合成不含贵金属的金属透镜（例如，Fe，Co，Ni，Cu和Mo）。