Efficient Electrochemical Co-Reduction of Carbon Dioxide and Nitrate to Urea with High Faradaic Efficiency on Cobalt-Based Dual-Sites.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 38563723.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1002/adma.202401221.
- No licence information is recorded for this record.
- Because redistribution is not established, this page shows the abstract only. Follow the links below for the full text.
Abstract
Renewable electricity-powered nitrate/carbon dioxide co-reduction reaction toward urea production paves an attractive alternative to industrial urea processes and offers a clean on-site approach to closing the global nitrogen cycle. However, its large-scale implantation is severely impeded by challenging C-N coupling and requires electrocatalysts with high activity/selectivity. Here, cobalt-nanoparticles anchored on carbon nanosheet (Co NPs@C) are proposed as a catalyst electrode to boost yield and Faradaic efficiency (FE) toward urea electrosynthesis with enhanced C-N coupling. Such Co NPs@C renders superb urea-producing activity with a high FE reaching 54.3% and a urea yield of 2217.5 µg h<sup>-1</sup> mg<sub>cat.</sub> <sup>-1</sup>, much superior to the Co NPs and C nanosheet counterparts, and meanwhile shows strong stability. The Co NPs@C affords rich catalytically active sites, fast reactant diffusion, and sufficient catalytic surfaces-electrolyte contacts with favored charge and ion transfer efficiencies. The theoretical calculations reveal that the high-rate formation of *CO and *NH<sub>2</sub> intermediates is crucial for facilitating urea synthesis.