Sustainable chlorine cycle enabled by single atom catalysis

In the pursuit of sustainable development, the world faces two key challenges: effective waste management and improved energy efficiency. In this context, it is necessary to propose a chlorine-centered sustainable solution, as the related industries consume large amounts of electricity and precious metals while generating significant quantities of plastic waste. Here, we report a chloride electrocatalyst of titanium nitride-supported ruthenium single-atoms (Ru1@TiN) that exhibits high efficiency for chlorine evolution reaction of NaCl in multi-conditions, with a nearly 100% selectivity in a wide range of pH values, potentially saving some of the electricity for the chlor-alkali industry. Moreover, Ru1@TiN can decompose polyvinyl chloride waste into chlorine and other valuable chemicals, providing an approach to plastic upcycling and green chlorine production. A coordination-derived activation mechanism on TiN support is uncovered and a dynamic polyatomic active site is proposed to explain the achieved catalytic performances. This work will benefit developing sustainable chlorine chemical industries.