Vilé Group

Our recent paper was selected for the cover of @greenchemistry.rsc.org! 👇

Powder‐to‐Film Conversion of Nickel Single‐Atom Catalysts into Binder‐Free and Resistant Electrodes A reproducible strategy is reported for fabricating standalone thin-film electrodes composed of CNx-supported Ni single-atom catalysts. The resulting binder-free electrodes exhibit robust stability, ...

Our latest article, with @uni-graz.at, @stonybrooku.bsky.social, @iitalk.bsky.social, @brookhavenlab.bsky.social, shows a reproducible route from powdered #SACs to binder-free, robust thin-film electrodes for sensing and electrosynthesis.
👏 Milla!

advanced.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

Is micellar catalysis green, or can we push it further? We combined techno-economic and sustainability analysis across six processes, identifying today’s limits and the path toward sustainable aqueous manufacturing. Congrats to Mert on this new work! @greenchemistry.rsc.org

👉 shorturl.at/aQD1T

Our industry-academia roadmap toward #greener, #safer, and #sustainable-by-design #pharmaceuticals, #agrochemicals, and #fine #chemicals is featured on the cover of @chemsocrev.rsc.org (@rsc.org)! Congrats to all authors! Artwork by Carmelo Garofalo.

We kicked off the year with a new @greenchemistry.rsc.org paper! A light-driven Ullmann homocoupling using Pd #SACs, where light tunes Pd coordination to drive catalysis under ambient conditions. #SACs cut CO₂ (~70%), water (~75%), energy (~62%) & Pd use (~93%). Congrats Areti & team!

Still seeking a #PhD candidate with #physics background to work on the physicochemical study of photocatalytic processes with us and Annamaria #Petrozza @iitalk.bsky.social. Only applicants with physics training will be considered. Email: primeleap@polimi.it

Our group is at #MEETmeTonight, the event bringing research closer to society, with an interactive session on how catalysis design & photoreactor engineering tackle one of today’s key challenges: removing emerging pollutants. Kudos to Theo, Shilpa & Jia! #EUfunded

Copper Single‐Atom Catalyst for Efficient C─S Coupling in Thioether Synthesis We report the first single-atom catalyst for C─S cross-coupling, featuring atomically dispersed Cu sites on mesoporous carbon nitride. The catalyst enables efficient, selective, and recyclable thioet...

🚨Just out in @angewandtechemie.bsky.social: cross couplings fuel synthesis, but C–S bonds over #SACs were uncharted territory, until now. Here, the first SAC for C–S coupling: selective, recyclable & thiol-poisoning resistant. 👏 to Theo, Shilpa, and all coauthors!

Link: shorturl.at/w9FpX

Proud to share our latest work published in @natcomms.nature.com. We report a sustainable C(sp³)–C(sp³) cross-coupling method with carbon nitride and nickel, eliminating the need for rare and expensive Ir or Ru-based photocatalysts. 👏 to Miguel and all coauthors!

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

An incredible first week in China! Grateful to Prof. Min Zhang (South China University of Technology) for the warm hospitality and inspiring scientific exchange. I visited #Guangzhou, #Guilin, #Yangshuo, and gave seminars at local universities. Now off to another exciting week in the capital! 🇨🇳

Structured, Shaped, or Printed Single‐Atom Catalysts and Their Applications This paper reviews the design and use of structured single-atom catalysts, which integrate porous architectures with the exceptional reactivity of isolated catalytic sites. It explores fabrication st...

Scaling up single-atom catalysts? Our new review in #AdvFunctMater explores the shift from powders to structured systems, key for real-world impact. Big shoutout to our own Jia and our Spanish collaborators.

Supported by @erc.europa.eu | #SACs #AdvancedMaterials

doi.org/10.1002/adfm...

An Adaptive Palladium Single-Atom Catalyst Enabling Reactivity Switching between Borylation and C–C Coupling The development of single-atom catalysts (SACs) with site-specific and tunable catalytic functionalities remains a highly desirable yet challenging goal in catalysis. In this study, we report a SAC featuring anisotropic coordination cavities synthesized via a one-step polymerization of 2,6-diaminopyridine and cyanuric chloride. These cavities provide a robust framework for anchoring isolated Pd single atoms with exceptional stability. The unique broken symmetry of the catalyst’s local structure enables precise control over reaction pathways, allowing reactivity to be switched between distinct catalytic outcomes. Specifically, under tailored reaction conditions, the catalyst can either halt at the borylation step or proceed seamlessly to Suzuki coupling in a self-cascade process. Mechanistic studies unveil the pivotal role of Pd single atoms in driving key steps, including oxidative addition, base exchange, and reductive elimination. Furthermore, green metrics demonstrate the process’s sustainability, with minimized waste generation and reduced reliance on hazardous reagents in the self-cascade transformation. This work establishes an innovative benchmark in the field of single-atom catalysis: by enabling complex, multistep transformations via strategic activation of multiple functional groups, this catalyst exemplifies the potential of self-cascade processes to revolutionize synthetic chemistry via catalysis engineering.

Proud to share our latest #JACS paper! We report an #adaptive Pd single-atom catalyst that switches between borylation and Suzuki coupling, a milestone for smart #SACs and self-cascade processes.

@acs.org @jacs.acspublications.org | @erc.europa.eu #MSCActions ‪
pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

On the Hunt for Chiral Single-Atom Catalysts Enantioselective transformations are crucial in various fields, including chemistry, biology, and materials science. Today, the selective production of enantiopure compounds is achieved through asymme...

We just published a new perspective in #ACSCatalysis (@acs.org) discussing key challenges and a roadmap for bringing enantioselectivity into the world of #SACs! Congrats to Theo and Vincenzo!

#EU_funded | @erc.europa.eu | #MSCA pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

Areti's work is featured on the Cover of #ACSCatalysis (@acs.org)!
The paper can be accessed here 👉 doi.org/10.1021/acsc...

#EUfunded

Green Chemistry journal The home of cutting-edge research on the development of alternative sustainable technologies

Honored to join the Advisory Board of @greenchemistry.rsc.org, a journal at the forefront of green and sustainable chemistry! Huge thanks to @rsc.org and their Editorial Board for this opportunity!
www.rsc.org/journals-boo...

Tracking Charge Dynamics in a Silver Single-Atom Catalyst During the Light-Driven Oxidation of Benzyl Alcohol to Benzaldehyde Understanding charge transfer in light-driven processes is crucial for optimizing the efficiency and performance of a photocatalyst, as charge transfer directly influences the separation and migration of photogenerated charge carriers and determines the overall reaction rate and product formation. However, achieving this understanding remains challenging in the context of single-atom photocatalysis. This study addresses this gap and investigates an Ag-based single-atom catalyst (Ag1@CNx) in the photocatalytic oxidation of benzyl alcohol to benzaldehyde. Comprehensive characterization was conducted using a battery of diffractive, textural, spectroscopic, and microscopic methods, confirming the catalyst crystallinity, porosity, elemental composition, and atomic dispersion of silver atoms. This material displayed efficient performance in the selective oxidation of benzyl alcohol to benzaldehyde. Density functional theory calculations were used to rationalize the catalyst structure and elucidate the reaction mechanism, unveiling the role of the photogenerated holes in lowering the reaction energy barriers. Time-resolved transient spectroscopic studies were used to monitor the dynamics of photogenerated charges in the reaction, revealing the lifetimes and behaviors of excited states within the catalyst. Specifically, the introduction of silver atoms led to a significant enhancement in the excited state lifetime, which favors the hole-transfer in the presence of the benzyl alcohol. This indicated that the photoexcited carriers were effectively transferred to the reactant, thereby driving the oxidation process in the presence of oxygen. These mechanistic insights are pivotal in spectroscopically elucidating the reaction mechanism and can be practically applied to design single-atom photocatalysts more rationally, targeting materials that combine both rapid reductive quenching and efficient charge transfer to the metal.

Just out in #ACSCatalysis @acs.org! We show how isolated Ag atoms boost excited-state lifetimes & hole transfer, enhancing catalysis. Key insights for next-gen SACs for fine chemicals.👇

#EU_funded @erc.europa.eu

Sustainability assessment of single-atom catalysts in the transition to greener chemical processes This study compares the environmental and economic impacts of homogeneous, heterogeneous, and single-atom catalysts for ester synthesis, under thermal, photocatalytic, and electrocatalytic conditions, highlighting that heterogeneous, Ni-based single-atom catalysts provide a more sustainable alternative to traditional catalysts. The findings contribute to advancing sustainable manufacturing in fine chemical production.

Chemical manufacturing accounts for 2% of global CO2 emissions. In this study the authors find that single-atom catalysts such as earth-abundant materials are recyclable, produce fewer harmful emissions, reduced energy consumption, and lower costs for everyday products.

www.cell.com/cell-reports...