Stabilizing Atomically Dispersed Au With Adjacent Pt for Spatially Precise Molecule Recognition

Atomically dispersed Au catalysts provided well-defined active sites but are constrained by poor structural stability and insufficient spatially resolved interactions with structurally complex multi-functionalized molecules (SCMMs), limiting their applicability in selective catalysis. Herein, a generalizable adjacency-assisted strategy to stabilize Au sites and enable multi-site recognition toward SCMMs by introducing Pt atoms into defect-rich CeO₂ supported Au single atoms (Au₁Pt₁-CeO₂) is proposed. Experimental and computational analyses demonstrate that Pt incorporation suppresses metallic Au° formation by strengthening Au-O orbital coupling and inducing electronic redistribution across Au-O-Ce bridge, thereby preventing Au atom aggregation and facilitating interfacial charge transfer. The multi-centered configuration creates cooperative interaction sites in which Ce, Au, and Pt preferentially coordinate with the F, -COOH, and -C = O moieties of norfloxacin (NOR), respectively, establishing a well-defined adsorption geometry that enhances electrochemical catalytic performance and enables spatially precise recognition toward SCMMs. Extending this strategy to other platinum group metals (PGMs = Ir, Pd) confirms a potentially generalizable stabilization effect driven by suitable d-orbital electronic modulation, whereas other transition metal atoms (Fe, Ag) fail to induce similar behavior. This work provides a general interfacial modulation perspective that may inspire the rational development of robust and recognition-oriented catalysts for SCMMs.