Promoting Electroreduction of CO<sub>2</sub> and NO<sub>3</sub><sup>−</sup> to Urea via Tandem Catalysis of Zn Single Atoms and In<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3‐x</sub>
Abstract Urea electrosynthesis from co‐electrolysis of CO 2 and NO 3 − (UECN) offers an innovative route for converting waste CO 2 /NO 3 − into valuable urea. Herein, Zn single atoms anchored on oxygen vacancy (OV)‐rich In 2 O 3‐x (Zn 1 /In 2 O 3‐x ) are developed as a highly active and selective UECN catalyst, delivering the highest urea yield rate of 41.6 mmol h −1 g −1 and urea‐Faradaic efficiency of 55.8% at −0.7 V in flow cell, superior to most previously reported UECN catalysts. In situ spectroscopic measurements and theoretical calculations unveil the synergy of In/Zn 1 sites and OVs in promoting the UECN process via a tandem catalysis mechanism, where Zn 1 ‐OV site activates NO 3 − to form * NH 2 while In‐OV site activates CO 2 to form * CO. The formed * CO spontaneously migrates from the In‐OV site to the nearby Zn 1 ‐OV site and then couples with * NH 2 to generate * CONH 2 which is ultimately converted into urea.
Authors
- Ke Chu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9126-9264)
- Xing Yang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3989-4158)
- Zhuohang Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5559-4094)
- Xijun Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2624-6901)
- Kai Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4144-9635)
- Ying Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2451-5354)
- Hu Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4178-6401)
Institutions
- Guangxi University (CN)
- Lanzhou Jiaotong University (CN)
- University of Science and Technology Beijing (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Advanced Energy Materials
- Published
- 2024-08-16
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/aenm.202402309
- Citations
- 112
- Primary Topic
- Ammonia Synthesis and Nitrogen Reduction
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 11.97
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China