Precisely Bonded Fe─Cu Diatomic Sites with Nitrogen‐Bridged Coordination on Hollow C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub> Spheres for Efficient C─N Coupling and Selective Photocatalytic Urea Synthesis

The photocatalytic synthesis of urea from CO<sub>2</sub> and N<sub>2</sub> co-reduction presents a promising alternative to the conventional energy-intensive Haber-Bosch process. However, competitive adsorption on the catalyst surface often limits selectivity and yield. Here, we designed hollow graphitic carbon nitride (g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub>) spheres, which serve as a high surface area scaffold for precise anchoring of Fe─Cu diatomic sites. Hollow architecture enhances light harvesting via inner-scattering effects and charge separation. Each Fe─Cu site is coordinated with two nitrogen atoms, forming N<sub>2</sub>─Fe<sub>1</sub>─Cu<sub>1</sub>─N<sub>2</sub> /C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4 DAC</sub> (hereafter referred to as FeCu/CN), which enables cooperative activation of CO<sub>2</sub> and N<sub>2</sub>, in contrast to monodispersed diatomic (Fe+Cu/CN), and single-atom catalysts (Fe/CN, Cu/CN). The FeCu/CN bonded pairs serve as highly efficient active centers, facilitating the synergistic adsorption and activation of multiple reactants. Specifically, during the co-reduction of CO<sub>2</sub> and N<sub>2</sub>, the Fe<sub>1</sub> site preferentially adsorbs and activates CO<sub>2</sub>, while bonded Cu<sub>1</sub> sites stabilize N<sub>2</sub> on FeCu/CN and enable synergistic C─N coupling through the formation of *NCON intermediates. As a result, the FeCu/CN achieves an exceptional urea yield of 7.40 mg·g<sub>cat</sub> <sup>-1</sup>·h<sup>-1</sup> with a 38.58% selectivity under visible light irradiation. Our findings highlight the crucial role of atomic-level coordination in multireactants and offer insights into the C─N coupling for value-added products using CO<sub>2</sub> and N<sub>2</sub> as feedstock.

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Publication Details

Journal
Angewandte Chemie International Edition
Published
2025-08-29
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202512234
Citations
3
Primary Topic
Advanced Photocatalysis Techniques
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
1.09

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article

Precisely Bonded Fe─Cu Diatomic Sites with Nitrogen‐Bridged Coordination on Hollow C3N4 Spheres for Efficient C─N Coupling and Selective Photocatalytic Urea Synthesis

Haokun Bai, Hongtao Yu, Muhammad Irfan Ahmad, Shuo Chen et al.
3 citations
Angewandte Chemie International Edition
Advanced Photocatalysis Techniques
1.09
article

Precisely Bonded Fe─Cu Diatomic Sites with Nitrogen‐Bridged Coordination on Hollow C3N4 Spheres for Efficient C─N Coupling and Selective Photocatalytic Urea Synthesis

Haokun Bai, Hongtao Yu, Muhammad Irfan Ahmad, Shuo Chen, Yanming Liu, Xie Quan
article en
3 citations

Abstract

The photocatalytic synthesis of urea from CO<sub>2</sub> and N<sub>2</sub> co-reduction presents a promising alternative to the conventional energy-intensive Haber-Bosch process. However, competitive adsorption on the catalyst surface often limits selectivity and yield. Here, we designed hollow graphitic carbon nitride (g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub>) spheres, which serve as a high surface area scaffold for precise anchoring of Fe─Cu diatomic sites. Hollow architecture enhances light harvesting via inner-scattering effects and charge separation. Each Fe─Cu site is coordinated with two nitrogen atoms, forming N<sub>2</sub>─Fe<sub>1</sub>─Cu<sub>1</sub>─N<sub>2</sub> /C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4 DAC</sub> (hereafter referred to as FeCu/CN), which enables cooperative activation of CO<sub>2</sub> and N<sub>2</sub>, in contrast to monodispersed diatomic (Fe+Cu/CN), and single-atom catalysts (Fe/CN, Cu/CN). The FeCu/CN bonded pairs serve as highly efficient active centers, facilitating the synergistic adsorption and activation of multiple reactants. Specifically, during the co-reduction of CO<sub>2</sub> and N<sub>2</sub>, the Fe<sub>1</sub> site preferentially adsorbs and activates CO<sub>2</sub>, while bonded Cu<sub>1</sub> sites stabilize N<sub>2</sub> on FeCu/CN and enable synergistic C─N coupling through the formation of *NCON intermediates. As a result, the FeCu/CN achieves an exceptional urea yield of 7.40 mg·g<sub>cat</sub> <sup>-1</sup>·h<sup>-1</sup> with a 38.58% selectivity under visible light irradiation. Our findings highlight the crucial role of atomic-level coordination in multireactants and offer insights into the C─N coupling for value-added products using CO<sub>2</sub> and N<sub>2</sub> as feedstock.

Angewandte Chemie International EditionVol. 64(43)
Dalian University of Technology (CN)
Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, National Natural Science Foundation of China-Liaoning Joint Fund
Openalex Percentile: Top 22%
Advanced Photocatalysis Techniques
1.09
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