Nano-confinement engineering boosts C-N coupling for urea electrosynthesis.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 41453889.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-025-67741-1 and PMC identifier 12847823.
- Licence recorded as CC BY-NC-ND.
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Abstract
The electrochemical co-reduction of CO<sub>2</sub> and nitrate provides a sustainable route for urea synthesis via C-N coupling, yet kinetic limitations and poor intermediate interactions hinder urea yields. Here, we engineer a nano-confined CuRu bimetallic catalyst within mesoporous carbon hollow spheres (MCHS) to overcome these barriers. By spatially confining reactants and intermediates, the catalyst achieves a urea yield of 12.51 g h<sup>-1</sup> g<sub>cat</sub><sup>-1</sup> at 250 mA cm<sup>-2</sup>, with 125-hour stability. In situ spectroscopy and computational analyses reveal that nano-confinement switches the C-N coupling pathway from the thermodynamically favored *COOH-*NH<sub>2</sub> to kinetically driven *OCO-*NO intermediates, bypassing energy barriers. Precise pore-size engineering (4-11 nm) demonstrates that optimal confinement simultaneously enhances reactant transport and intermediate retention, boosting selectivity. This work establishes nano-confinement as a versatile approach for controlling multi-step electrocatalytic processes, enabling sustainable chemical synthesis.