Synergistic Cu Single Atoms and MoS<sub>2</sub>‐Edges for Tandem Electrocatalytic Reduction of NO<sub>3</sub><sup>−</sup> and CO<sub>2</sub> to Urea
Abstract Urea electrosynthesis from co‐electrolysis of NO 3 − and CO 2 (UENC) under ambient conditions is recognized as an appealing approach for effective and sustainable urea production, while it requires high‐efficiency UENC electrocatalysts to promote the C─N coupling and hydrogenation processes. Herein, single‐atom Cu anchored on MoS 2 (Cu 1 ‐MoS 2 ) is explored as a highly active and selective UENC catalyst. Theoretical calculations and operando spectroscopic characterizations unveil the synergistic tandem catalysis of Cu 1 ‐MoS 2 for the UENC, where Cu single atoms trigger the early C─N coupling, while MoS 2 ‐edges promote the key hydrogenation step of * CO 2 NH 2 to * COOHNH 2 for urea generation. Strikingly, Cu 1 ‐MoS 2 equipped in a flow cell achieves the excellent UENC performance with a maximum urea‐Faradaic efficiency of 57.02% at −0.6 V and the corresponding urea yield rate of 23.3 mmol h −1 g −1 , surpassing nearly all previously reported UENC catalysts.
Authors
- Yichen Wei
- Ke Chu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9126-9264)
- Zeyi Sun
- Rui Bao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5826-2316)
- Kai Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4144-9635)
- Wenyu Du
Institutions
- Kunming University of Science and Technology (CN)
- Lanzhou Jiaotong University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Advanced Energy Materials
- Published
- 2024-08-16
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/aenm.202401765
- Citations
- 95
- Primary Topic
- Ammonia Synthesis and Nitrogen Reduction
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 10.15
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China