Atomically dispersed platinum catalyst resists sintering at high loadings

Chemists have developed a way to pack unusually large amounts of platinum into a catalyst while keeping every metal atom individually dispersed, a combination that has long eluded materials scientists. The new material, described in Nature Synthesis, retains its structure even under the harsh reducing conditions that normally destroy finely dispersed catalysts.

The strategy, called reticular coordination, uses a metal–organic framework as a molecular scaffold. Platinum atoms are anchored one at a time onto cerium-oxo clusters within the framework. When the material is then calcined, the framework converts into a ceria-based support, PtRC/CeOx, in which the platinum is atomically dispersed at a loading of 14.9 weight percent.

High loadings above 10 weight percent are generally difficult to reconcile with atomic dispersion, because densely packed metal atoms tend to migrate and fuse into larger particles, a process known as sintering.

In the new catalyst, the ceria lattice itself confines the platinum. When the material was treated at temperatures above 300 degrees Celsius under hydrogen, the isolated platinum species did not undergo uncontrolled sintering. Instead, their migration was suppressed after limited restructuring into flat, strongly confined ultrasmall clusters.

The researchers tested the treated material in proton exchange membrane water electrolysers. Using a platinum loading of 0.15 milligrams per square centimetre, the catalyst showed a degradation rate of 25 microvolts per hour.

For comparison, a commercial 40 weight percent platinum-on-carbon catalyst degraded at 106 microvolts per hour while operating at a higher platinum loading of 0.40 milligrams per square centimetre. The new catalyst also retained its structural integrity after 500 hours of operation at a current density of 1 ampere per square centimetre.

The reticular coordination approach was not limited to platinum. According to the reported figures, the strategy could be extended to other precious metals, suggesting a general route for anchoring single atoms of catalytically valuable elements onto oxide supports.

The work addresses a fundamental challenge in catalyst design: maximizing the utilization of scarce and expensive precious metals.

The resulting lattice confinement appears to be the key to durability, holding the platinum in place even when the catalyst is subjected to high temperatures and strongly reducing atmospheres.

The reported electrolyser results, obtained over hundreds of hours of continuous operation, indicate that the confined platinum clusters remain stable under the demanding conditions of water electrolysis, where catalyst degradation is a major obstacle to long-term hydrogen production.

Subject of Research: A reticular coordination strategy for highly loaded, sintering-resistant atomically dispersed platinum catalysts in ceria

Article Title: Durable, highly loaded atomically dispersed catalysts via a reticular coordination strategy

Article References: Jung, Y., Moon, J., Shim, J., Hwang, S., Bang, S.-U., Heo, S., Ahn, H., Yoo, S., Shin, D., Chun, S. E., Bootharaju, M. S., Ryu, J., Kim, D. H., Cho, S.-P., Sung, Y.-E., Kim, M., Hyeon, T., & Lee, B.-H. (2026). Durable, highly loaded atomically dispersed catalysts via a reticular coordination strategy. Nature Synthesis. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44160-026-01204-3

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1038/s44160-026-01204-3

Keywords: platinum, single-atom catalysts, ceria, metal-organic frameworks, sintering, reticular coordination, electrocatalysis, water electrolysis, catalyst stability, precious metals, Durable, highly