A copper-based single-atom material effectively controls plant diseases with nearly zero soil residue and low phytotoxicity.

A growing population necessitates the development of sustainable agriculture, which requires achieving atom economy in pesticide delivery, fertilization, and so on. To this end, we focus on single-atom materials (SAMs) to enhance atom utilization within agricultural systems. In this study, we report a novel pesticide for plants, a single-atom copper (Cu) formulation, by employing a precipitation-equilibrium-driven (K-driven) method to anchor Cu onto a calcium carbonate (CaCO) carrier.

Mn-Ce Symbiosis: Nanozymes with Multiple Active Sites Facilitate Scavenging of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) Based on Electron Transfer and Confinement Anchoring.

Regulating appropriate valence states of metal active centers, such as Ce/Ce and Mn/Mn, as well as surface vacancy defects, is crucial for enhancing the catalytic activity of cerium-based and manganese-based nanozymes. Drawing inspiration from the efficient substance exchange in rhizobia-colonized root cells of legumes, we developed a symbiosis nanozyme system with rhizobia-like CeO nanoclusters robustly anchored onto root-like MnO nanosupports (CeO/MnO). The process of "substance exchange" between Ce and Mn atoms-reminiscent of electron transfer-not only fine-tunes the metal active sites to achieve optimal Ce/Ce and Mn/Mn ratios but also enhances the vacancy ratio through interface defect engineering.

Stabilizing Few-Atom Platinum Clusters by Zinc Single-Atom-Glue for Efficient Anti-Markovnikov Alkene Hydrosilylation.

Few-atom metal clusters (FAMCs) exhibit superior performance in catalyzing complex molecular transformations due to their special spatial environments and electronic states, compared to single-atom catalysts (SACs). However, achieving the efficient and accurate synthesis of FAMCs while avoiding the formation of other species, such as nanoparticles and SACs, still remains challenges. Herein, we report a two-step strategy for synthesis of few-atom platinum (Pt) clusters by predeposition of zinc single-atom-glue (Zn) on MgO nanosheets (Pt-Zn/MgO), where FAMCs can be obtained over a wide range of Pt contents (0.

Alleviating OH Blockage on the Catalyst Surface by the Puncture Effect of Single-Atom Sites to Boost Alkaline Water Electrolysis.

Nonprecious transition metal catalysts have emerged as the preferred choice for industrial alkaline water electrolysis due to their cost-effectiveness. However, their overstrong binding energy to adsorbed OH often results in the blockage of active sites, particularly in the cathodic hydrogen evolution reaction. Herein, we found that single-atom sites exhibit a puncture effect to effectively alleviate OH blockades, thereby significantly enhancing the alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) performance.

Spiral Square Nanosheets Assembled from Ru Clusters.

Spiral two-dimensional (2D) nanosheets exhibit unique physical and chemical phenomena due to their twisted structures. While self-assembly of clusters is an ideal strategy to form hierarchical 2D structures, it is challenging to form spiral nanosheets. Herein, we first report a screw dislocation involved assembled method to obtain 2D spiral cluster assembled nanosheets (CANs) with uniform square morphology.