By harnessing the iron-breathing bacterium Geobacter sulfurreducens, Prof Pascal Saikaly's team has devised an ambient, low-cost route to make single-atom iridium catalysts that boost hydrogen production from water while using every atom efficiently.
“Single-atom catalysts allow 100 % atomic utilization, but conventional syntheses are costly and low-yield,” explains Srikanth Pedireddy.
The bacterium’s cytochromes reduce metal ions one atom at a time, embedding up to 1 % well-dispersed Ir atoms on its surface. The resulting catalyst matches platinum’s hydrogen-evolving activity at a fraction of the price, pointing to a nature-inspired toolkit for clean-energy electrocatalysts.