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Abstract

Supported atomically distributed metal species are extensively applied as catalysts to exceed the properties of their bulk analogues. Their electronic structures can be easily tuned by neighboring support atoms or ligands to control their activities for different reactions. The high accessibility and therefore almost 100 % reactivity of the highly distributed active sites provide new opportunities for electrochemical applications that were previously only suitable for noble metals. Although a lot of work has been done in this area, the demand for large-scale applications and, therefore, also large-scale production is still far from sufficient. In this Review, we selected some recent publications to show the current state of applications of dispersed single-atom catalysts in the oxygen reduction/evolution reaction and hydrogen evolution reaction, with a focus on their mechanisms in reactions, the underlying challenges, and synthesis methods. A further discussion on how the electrocatalytic performance of the supported single atom catalysts can be tailored to meet the requirements of large-scale applications is also proposed.