Sustainable chlorine cycle enabled by single atom catalysis

Jiarui Yang; Jiaxiang Shang; Xiong Wen David Lou; Jianglan Shui

doi:10.1038/s41467-025-65505-5

Sustainable chlorine cycle enabled by single atom catalysis

Jiarui Yang^*
, Jiaxiang Shang
, Xiong Wen David Lou^*
, Jianglan Shui^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Department of Chemistry

Research output: Journal Publications and Reviews › RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal › peer-review

11 Citations (Scopus)

5 Downloads (CityUHK Scholars)

Abstract

In the pursuit of sustainable development, the world faces two key challenges: effective waste management and improved energy efficiency. In this context, it is necessary to propose a chlorine-centered sustainable solution, as the related industries consume large amounts of electricity and precious metals while generating significant quantities of plastic waste. Here, we report a chloride electrocatalyst of titanium nitride-supported ruthenium single-atoms (Ru1@TiN) that exhibits high efficiency for chlorine evolution reaction of NaCl in multi-conditions, with a nearly 100% selectivity in a wide range of pH values, potentially saving some of the electricity for the chlor-alkali industry. Moreover, Ru1@TiN can decompose polyvinyl chloride waste into chlorine and other valuable chemicals, providing an approach to plastic upcycling and green chlorine production. A coordination-derived activation mechanism on TiN support is uncovered and a dynamic polyatomic active site is proposed to explain the achieved catalytic performances. This work will benefit developing sustainable chlorine chemical industries. © The Author(s) 2025.

Original language	English
Article number	10525
Number of pages	11
Journal	Nature Communications
Volume	16
Online published	26 Nov 2025
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-65505-5
Publication status	Published - 2025

Funding

This work was supported by the Key R&D Program of Zhejiang (2024SSYS0081, J.S.). This work was financially supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2021YFB4000601, J.S.), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (223B2902, J. Y.; U21A20328, J.S.; 22225903, J.S.). The authors acknowledge the use of XAS facilities of Beijing Synchrotron Radiation Facility at beamline 1W1B and thank Lirong Zheng (Institute of High Energy Physics) for assistance in the XAS measurements. We also acknowledge the funding support for the Global STEM Professorship from the Innovation, Technology and Industry Bureau (“ITIB”) and Education Bureau (“EDB”) of Hong Kong (X.W.L.). Open Access made possible with partial support from the Open Access Publishing Fund of the City University of Hong Kong.

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 7 Affordable and Clean Energy
SDG 9 Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
SDG 12 Responsible Consumption and Production

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This full text is made available under CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

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title = "Sustainable chlorine cycle enabled by single atom catalysis",

abstract = "In the pursuit of sustainable development, the world faces two key challenges: effective waste management and improved energy efficiency. In this context, it is necessary to propose a chlorine-centered sustainable solution, as the related industries consume large amounts of electricity and precious metals while generating significant quantities of plastic waste. Here, we report a chloride electrocatalyst of titanium nitride-supported ruthenium single-atoms (Ru1@TiN) that exhibits high efficiency for chlorine evolution reaction of NaCl in multi-conditions, with a nearly 100\% selectivity in a wide range of pH values, potentially saving some of the electricity for the chlor-alkali industry. Moreover, Ru1@TiN can decompose polyvinyl chloride waste into chlorine and other valuable chemicals, providing an approach to plastic upcycling and green chlorine production. A coordination-derived activation mechanism on TiN support is uncovered and a dynamic polyatomic active site is proposed to explain the achieved catalytic performances. This work will benefit developing sustainable chlorine chemical industries. {\textcopyright} The Author(s) 2025.",

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AU - Yang, Jiarui

AU - Shang, Jiaxiang

AU - Lou, Xiong Wen David

AU - Shui, Jianglan

PY - 2025

Y1 - 2025

N2 - In the pursuit of sustainable development, the world faces two key challenges: effective waste management and improved energy efficiency. In this context, it is necessary to propose a chlorine-centered sustainable solution, as the related industries consume large amounts of electricity and precious metals while generating significant quantities of plastic waste. Here, we report a chloride electrocatalyst of titanium nitride-supported ruthenium single-atoms (Ru1@TiN) that exhibits high efficiency for chlorine evolution reaction of NaCl in multi-conditions, with a nearly 100% selectivity in a wide range of pH values, potentially saving some of the electricity for the chlor-alkali industry. Moreover, Ru1@TiN can decompose polyvinyl chloride waste into chlorine and other valuable chemicals, providing an approach to plastic upcycling and green chlorine production. A coordination-derived activation mechanism on TiN support is uncovered and a dynamic polyatomic active site is proposed to explain the achieved catalytic performances. This work will benefit developing sustainable chlorine chemical industries. © The Author(s) 2025.

AB - In the pursuit of sustainable development, the world faces two key challenges: effective waste management and improved energy efficiency. In this context, it is necessary to propose a chlorine-centered sustainable solution, as the related industries consume large amounts of electricity and precious metals while generating significant quantities of plastic waste. Here, we report a chloride electrocatalyst of titanium nitride-supported ruthenium single-atoms (Ru1@TiN) that exhibits high efficiency for chlorine evolution reaction of NaCl in multi-conditions, with a nearly 100% selectivity in a wide range of pH values, potentially saving some of the electricity for the chlor-alkali industry. Moreover, Ru1@TiN can decompose polyvinyl chloride waste into chlorine and other valuable chemicals, providing an approach to plastic upcycling and green chlorine production. A coordination-derived activation mechanism on TiN support is uncovered and a dynamic polyatomic active site is proposed to explain the achieved catalytic performances. This work will benefit developing sustainable chlorine chemical industries. © The Author(s) 2025.

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UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105023053927#tab=impact

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DO - 10.1038/s41467-025-65505-5

M3 - RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal

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SN - 2041-1723

VL - 16

JO - Nature Communications

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Sustainable chlorine cycle enabled by single atom catalysis

Abstract

Funding

UN SDGs

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