A General Metal Ion\nRecognition Strategy to Mediate\nDual-Atomic-Site Catalysts

Heterogeneous dual-atomic-site catalysts (DACs) hold\ngreat potential\nfor diverse applications. However, to date, the synthesis of DACs\nprimarily relies on different atoms freely colliding on the support\nduring synthesis, principally leading to low yields. Herein, we report\na general metal ion recognition (MIR) strategy for constructing a\nseries of DACs, including but not limited to Fe<sub>1</sub>Sn<sub>1</sub>, Fe<sub>1</sub>Co<sub>1</sub>, Fe<sub>1</sub>Ni<sub>1</sub>, Fe<sub>1</sub>Cu<sub>1</sub>, Fe<sub>1</sub>Mn<sub>1</sub>, Co<sub>1</sub>Ni<sub>1</sub>, Co<sub>1</sub>Cu<sub>1</sub>, Co<sub>2</sub>, and Cu<sub>2</sub>. This strategy is achieved by coupling target\ninorganometallic cations and anions as ion pairs, which are sequentially\nadsorbed onto a nitrogen-doped carbon substrate as the precursor.\nTaking the oxygen reduction reaction as an example, we demonstrated\nthat the Fe<sub>1</sub>Sn<sub>1</sub>-DAC synthesized through this\nstrategy delivers a record peak power density of 1.218 W cm<sup>–2</sup> under 2.0 bar H<sub>2</sub>–O<sub>2</sub> conditions and\nenhanced stability compared to the single-atom-site FeN<sub>4</sub>. Further study revealed that the superior performance arises from\nthe synergistic effect of Fe<sub>1</sub>Sn<sub>1</sub> dual vicinal\nsites, which effectively optimizes the adsorption of *OH and alleviates\nthe troublesome Fenton-like reaction.