Electrosynthesis of urea from nitrite and CO2 over oxygen vacancy-rich ZnO porous nanosheets

2021/03/01 by Nannan Meng, Yanmei Huang, Yang Liu +2 · 4 citations
Chemical Engineering · Energy · #Advanced Photocatalysis Techniques #Ammonia Synthesis and Nitrogen Reduction #CO2 Reduction Techniques and Catalysts

paper · doi:10.1016/j.xcrp.2021.100378

openalex publication_date 2021/03/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28

Abstract

Urea electrosynthesis under mild conditions shows great potential to conquer the conventional manufacturing industry with huge energy consumption. Here, self-supported oxygen vacancy-rich ZnO (ZnO-V) porous nanosheets are prepared using the electroreduction method and adopted as an efficient catalyst for aqueous urea electrosynthesis by using CO2 and nitrite contaminants as feedstocks. The urea Faradaic efficiency of ZnO-V achieves 23.26% at −0.79 V versus the reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE), which is almost 3 times as high as that of ZnO (8.10%). Liquid chromatography is developed for quantitative analysis of urea. The combined results of online differential electrochemical mass spectrometry (DEMS) and in situ attenuated total internal reflectance Fourier Transform infrared spectroscopy unveil a possible coupling pathway of NH2∗ and COOH∗ intermediates for urea formation. Our work opens an avenue for rational construction of efficient electrocatalysts for urea electrosynthesis and broadens the scope of products available from nitrite and CO2 reduction.

Citations

• How a century of ammonia synthesis changed the world
• Boosting Selective Nitrate Electroreduction to Ammonium by Constructing Oxygen Vacancies in TiO₂
• Oxygen vacancies enhanced cooperative electrocatalytic reduction of carbon dioxide and nitrite ions to urea
• Coupling N2 and CO2 in H2O to synthesize urea under ambient conditions
• Electrochemical reduction of nitrate to ammonia via direct eight-electron transfer using a copper–molecular solid catalyst
• Promoting selective electroreduction of nitrates to ammonia over electron-deficient Co modulated by rectifying Schottky contacts

Cited by

• Oxide-Derived Core–Shell Cu@Zn Nanowires for Urea Electrosynthesis from Carbon Dioxide and Nitrate in Water
• Direct Electrosynthesis of Urea from Carbon Dioxide and Nitric Oxide
• Efficient urea electrosynthesis from carbon dioxide and nitrate via alternating Cu–W bimetallic C–N coupling sites
• Oxygen Vacancy-Mediated Selective C–N Coupling toward Electrocatalytic Urea Synthesis

Related

• Oxide-Derived Core–Shell Cu@Zn Nanowires for Urea Electrosynthesis from Carbon Dioxide and Nitrate in Water
• A Defect Engineered Electrocatalyst that Promotes High-Efficiency Urea Synthesis under Ambient Conditions
• Recent Advances in Urea Electrocatalysis: Applications, Materials and Mechanisms †
• Direct Electrosynthesis of Urea from Carbon Dioxide and Nitric Oxide
• Review on Electrocatalytic Coreduction of Carbon Dioxide and Nitrogenous Species for Urea Synthesis