Work‐Function‐Modulated Ag Single‐Atom Catalysts for Amino Alcohol Oxidation

Abstract

ABSTRACT We report Ag single‐atom catalysts for amino alcohol oxidation into amino acids. Using a surface defect trapping strategy, we fabricate a series of Ag 1 /MO x catalysts (M = Ce, Fe, Ti, Zn, Nb) featuring atomic dispersion and tunable electronic states of Ag. Oxygen vacancies on coordinatively unsaturated MO x act as high‐affinity trapping sites to anchor isolated Ag atoms. The electron density of Ag 1 is regulated by the work function of the reducible oxide: low‐work‐function supports induce stronger electron transfer to Ag, generating electron‐enriched Ag δ+ species (0 < δ < 1), while high‐work‐function supports suppress charge transfer and stabilize more electron‐deficient Ag sites. Together with adjacent oxygen vacancies, these tunable Ag δ+ sites enable O 2 activation and subsequent amino alcohol oxidation, delivering an initial rate of 0.81 mol h −1 g metal −1 and 95.1% glycine selectivity in monoethanolamine oxidation. This work establishes a work‐function‐modulated strategy for designing Ag‐based single‐atom oxidation catalysts, demonstrating that amino alcohol oxidation can be efficiently achieved beyond the conventional reliance on Au‐based systems.