Webinar title: Design and Application of Single-atom Catalysts in Advanced Oxidation Processes

Speaker: Xiaoguang Duan

Webinar time: December 26th, 2025 (Friday) 10:00

Venue: Room 200, New Environmental Building

Inviter: Mingce Long

Abstract:

Single-atom catalysis, as an emerging catalytic strategy, exhibits remarkable catalytic performance in advanced oxidation processes (AOPs). Compared with traditional nanocatalysts, single-atom catalysts feature atomically dispersed active sites, efficient electron transfer capability, and excellent catalytic selectivity, endowing them with great potential in environmental catalysis such as pollutant degradation and wastewater treatment. However, the application of SACs in AOPs still faces multiple challenges, including the large-scale synthesis of catalytic materials, precise regulation of active site structures, accurate analysis of reaction pathways, and improvement of catalyst stability. This report will introduce the team's work on the controllable synthesis of single-atom catalysts, modulation of active site electronic structures, and mechanistic investigation of catalytic processes. This includes material synthesis and modification strategies such as the controlled adsorption–pyrolysis method for preparing Co-SAC catalysts, construction of Co1CNCl/S single-atom catalysts with axially coordinated Cl and shell-layer S co-modification, and conversion of polymer waste into Fe–N/Cl single-atom catalysts. Furthermore, the mechanism of peroxymonosulfate activation and the induced multiple reaction pathways have been elucidated through combined experimental and theoretical calculations. These studies provide theoretical foundations and technical pathways for the rational design and application of high-performance and sustainable environmental catalysts.

About the speaker:

Dr. Xiaoguang Duan is currently a Professor in the School of Chemical Engineering at the University of Adelaide, Australia. His research focuses on advanced oxidation technologies, green catalysis, and functional materials. In recent years, he has published over 170 papers as a corresponding author in journals such as Nature Water, Nature Sustainability, Chemical Reviews, Chemical Society Reviews, Advanced Materials, Angewandte Chemie, Nature Communications, and Environmental Science & Technology, with a total citation count exceeding 50,000 and an h-index of 124. He has received funding from several Australian Research Council (ARC) programs, including the ARC Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA), Future Fellowship, and Discovery Project grants. From 2018 to 2021, he was consecutively named one of the "Top 40 Research Rising Stars" in The Australian’s Annual Research Report. He has also received the ACS Catalysis Early Career Scientist Award, the ES&T James J. Morgan Early Career Award, the Australian Young Tall Poppy Science Award, and the MIT Technology Review "Innovators Under 35" award. He was recognized as a Highly Cited Researcher by Clarivate from 2019 to 2023. Currently, he serves as an Editor/Associate Editor for journals including Applied Catalysis B: Environment and Energy, Biochar, and Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering.