Efficient urea electrosynthesis from carbon dioxide and nitrate via alternating Cu–W bimetallic C–N coupling sites

2023/07/26 by Yilong Zhao, Yunxuan Ding, Wenlong Li +7 · 4 citations
Chemical Engineering · Energy · #Advanced Photocatalysis Techniques #Ammonia Synthesis and Nitrogen Reduction #CO2 Reduction Techniques and Catalysts

paper · pdf · doi:10.1038/s41467-023-40273-2

openalex publication_date 2023/07/26 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31

Abstract

Abstract Electrocatalytic urea synthesis is an emerging alternative technology to the traditional energy-intensive industrial urea synthesis protocol. Novel strategies are urgently needed to promote the electrocatalytic C–N coupling process and inhibit the side reactions. Here, we report a CuWO 4 catalyst with native bimetallic sites that achieves a high urea production rate (98.5 ± 3.2 μg h −1 mg −1 cat ) for the co-reduction of CO 2 and NO 3 − with a high Faradaic efficiency (70.1 ± 2.4%) at −0.2 V versus the reversible hydrogen electrode. Mechanistic studies demonstrated that the combination of stable intermediates of *NO 2 and *CO increases the probability of C–N coupling and reduces the potential barrier, resulting in high Faradaic efficiency and low overpotential. This study provides a new perspective on achieving efficient urea electrosynthesis by stabilizing the key reaction intermediates, which may guide the design of other electrochemical systems for high-value C–N bond-containing chemicals.

Citations

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Cited by

• Urea Electrosynthesis from Nitrate and CO2 on Diatomic Alloys
• Carbon Dioxide and Nitrate Electrocatalytic C-N Coupling for Sustainable Production of Urea
• Emerging electrocatalytic conversion of NO x species into value-added nitrogenous chemicals
• Recent Advances in Urea Electrocatalysis: Applications, Materials and Mechanisms†

Related

• Direct Electrosynthesis of Urea from Carbon Dioxide and Nitric Oxide
• Review on Electrocatalytic Coreduction of Carbon Dioxide and Nitrogenous Species for Urea Synthesis
• Carbon Dioxide and Nitrate Electrocatalytic C-N Coupling for Sustainable Production of Urea
• Recent Advances in Urea Electrocatalysis: Applications, Materials and Mechanisms†
• Dynamic Reconstitution Between Copper Single Atoms and Clusters for Electrocatalytic Urea Synthesis