Robot-driven synthesis platform enables next generation of catalysts with industrial compatibility

Abstract Single-atom catalysts have long been recognized as a revolutionary class of catalytic materials, owing to their maximal atom utilization efficiency and unique electronic structures that enable superior catalytic performance across diverse reactions. However, the translation of catalysts, for example, single-atom catalysts, from laboratory-scale fundamental research to industrial-scale practical applications has been severely hindered by inherent limitations in traditional synthesis strategies—weak metal–support interactions lead to poor stability, low reproducibility, and scalability challenges. Against this backdrop, Prof. Jin Zhang and Prof. Ruqian Zou from Peking University, in collaboration with Prof. Ju Li from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Jiong Lu from the National University of Singapore, have developed a clicking auxiliary-enabled strategy for constructing clicking-single-atom catalysts and integrated it with a robot-driven high-throughput platform (Chen W, Feng L, Ma B et al. Click-locking strategy enables automated synthesis of single-atom catalysts with industrial compatibility. Nat Syn 2026. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44160-026-01004-9). This innovative approach represents a pivotal step forward in bridging the gap between single-atom catalyst research and industrial deployment. This achievement not only paves the way for the industrialization of single-atom catalysts but also marks the advent of a new era of materials research driven by the synergy of artificial intelligence and robotics. Moving forward, catalytic materials development should take ‘full-process intelligence’ as the core goal to drive leaps and bounds in energy catalysis, environmental catalysis and other fields.