Single-Atom Rh<sub>1</sub> Alloyed Co for Urea Electrosynthesis from CO<sub>2</sub> and NO<sub>3</sub><sup>–</sup>
Single-atom Rh<sub>1</sub> alloyed Co (Rh<sub>1</sub>Co) is explored as an efficient catalyst for urea electrosynthesis via coelectrolysis of CO<sub>2</sub> and NO<sub>3</sub><sup>-</sup> (UECN). Theoretical calculations and in situ spectroscopic measurements unravel the synergetic effect of Co and Rh<sub>1</sub> in promoting the UECN process, where the Rh<sub>1</sub> site activates NO<sub>3</sub><sup>-</sup> to form *NH<sub>2</sub>, while the Co site activates CO<sub>2</sub> to form *CO. The formed *CO then desorbs from the Co site and transfers to the Rh<sub>1</sub> site, followed by continuous C-N coupling with *NH<sub>2</sub> formed on the Rh<sub>1</sub> site to synthesize urea. Remarkably, Rh<sub>1</sub>Co assembled in a flow cell delivers the exceptional urea yield rate of 24.9 mmol h<sup>-1</sup> g<sup>-1</sup> and Faradaic efficiency of 51.1%, outperforming most previously reported UECN catalysts.
Authors
- Zhuoyan Zhang
- Yicheng Wei (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0222-3702)
- Jinmei Qian (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5827-9716)
- Yuying Wan
- Ke Chu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0606-2689)
- Jilong Kang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4222-2408)
Institutions
- Lanzhou Jiaotong University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nano Letters
- Published
- 2024-08-20
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.4c02767
- Citations
- 25
- Primary Topic
- Ammonia Synthesis and Nitrogen Reduction
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 2.67
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Lanzhou Jiaotong University