Electrochemical coupling of carbon monoxide and amine on iodide coordination stabilized Cuδ+ site
The use of renewable electricity to drive the electrocatalytic coupling of CO with nitrogen-containing organics offers a promising strategy for producing high-value chemicals. In this work, we conduct a systematic investigation of the coordination effect between iodide and copper oxide to generate Cu<sup>δ+</sup> active sites. These Cu<sup>δ+</sup> sites enable the electrosynthesis of dimethylacetamide from CO and dimethylamine. Through precise regulation of the electrode surface microenvironment, a dimethylacetamide Faradaic efficiency of 45.6% is achieved at a partial current density of 182.4 mA·cm<sup>-2</sup>, with a production rate of 435.9 mmol·g<sub>cat.</sub><sup>-1</sup>·h<sup>-1</sup> and selectivity approaching 70%. Mechanistic studies reveal that specific adsorption of I<sup>-</sup> forms an iodide-enriched Cu<sup>0</sup>/Cu<sup>+</sup> interface that synergistically promotes dimethylacetamide formation by enhancing adsorption of ketene intermediates (*CCO) and facilitating C-N bonds formation. This anion-coordination interfacial engineering strategy demonstrates broad applicability for synthesizing various acetamide derivatives from CO<sub>2</sub>/CO and amine, providing a foundational framework for electrocatalytic C-N coupling in acetamide synthesis.
Authors
- Qizheng An
- Zhonghuan Zhu
- Yuqin Zou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3038-1521)
- Yuping Pan
- Shuangyin Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7185-9857)
- Yuxuan Lu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6214-0277)
- Yongjun Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1480-4942)
- Zhongcheng Xia
- Ruiqi Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2095-160X)
- Qinghua Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4090-3311)
- Yun Fan
- Yunhui Yan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6961-6765)
Institutions
- University of Science and Technology of China (CN)
- Hunan University (CN)
- Shenzhen University (CN)
- National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2025-07-26
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-62291-y
- Citations
- 6
- Primary Topic
- CO2 Reduction Techniques and Catalysts
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 2.18
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Hunan University
- Hunan Provincial Innovation Foundation for Postgraduate
- National Key Research and Development Program of China
- Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation of Guangdong Province