Huaizhen Cui, Jiaqi Zhang, Chen Chen
Single-atom catalysts (SACs) offer exceptional potential for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), yet their practical application is hindered by an incomplete understanding of structure-activity relationships at the atomic scale. Traditional descriptors fail to fully explain the adsorption behavior of key oxygen intermediates, creating a fundamental gap in catalyst design. This review addresses this limitation by introducing a "structure-adsorption" framework that clarifies how metal-support interactions (MSIs) can be tuned through coordination engineering, such as spin configuration, axial coordination, and atomic distance. Our analysis demonstrates that optimal OER activity arises from a balance between orbital hybridization and electrostatic effects, providing clear design principles for next-generation SACs aimed at sustainable energy conversion.