Controlled Interruption of Electrochemical Nitrite Reduction for Switchable NH <sub>2</sub> OH and Formamide Synthesis

ABSTRACT Electrochemical nitrite reduction has the potential to yield a wide range of nitrogen‐containing products, yet it typically converges to fully reduced NH 3 . Here, we introduce a reduction–interruption strategy that programs the reaction pathway on a Bi@C catalyst through the cooperative regulation of pH and CO, enabling precise control over product distribution. Depending on the coordinated pH–CO environment, nitrite can be selectively intercepted at NH 2 OH or diverted toward C─N coupling. Under optimized alkaline conditions with CO, formamide is produced with a Faradaic efficiency of 80.2% and a yield rate of 204.8 mmol·g cat −1 ·h −1 , while at near‐neutral conditions, the same strategy enhances NH 2 OH Faradaic efficiency to 79.1%. Mechanistic studies reveal that pH governs the reorientation and hydrogen‐bond structure of interfacial water, which dictates active hydrogen (*H) generation kinetics and thereby defines the attainable reduction depth, whether it stops at NH 2 OH or proceeds to deeper deoxygenation to *NH 2 . Only when *H is sufficiently available, *NH 2 then selectively captures CO, redirecting it away from complete hydrogenation. Collectively, we show that multi‐electron electrocatalysis can be programmed by coupling interfacial structural control with targeted molecular trapping, offering a generalizable route to accessing metastable intermediates and expanding nitrogen electrosynthesis beyond ammonia.

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Journal
Angewandte Chemie
Published
2026-05-01
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/ange.5328209
Primary Topic
Ammonia Synthesis and Nitrogen Reduction
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Controlled Interruption of Electrochemical Nitrite Reduction for Switchable NH 2 OH and Formamide Synthesis

Bo Sheng, Yangfan Li, Shijie Xie, Xingmiao Huang et al.
Angewandte Chemie
Ammonia Synthesis and Nitrogen Reduction
article

Controlled Interruption of Electrochemical Nitrite Reduction for Switchable NH 2 OH and Formamide Synthesis

Bo Sheng, Yangfan Li, Shijie Xie, Xingmiao Huang, Hua Sheng, Jincai Zhao, Zhenlin Chen, Chuncheng Chen
article en

Abstract

ABSTRACT Electrochemical nitrite reduction has the potential to yield a wide range of nitrogen‐containing products, yet it typically converges to fully reduced NH 3 . Here, we introduce a reduction–interruption strategy that programs the reaction pathway on a Bi@C catalyst through the cooperative regulation of pH and CO, enabling precise control over product distribution. Depending on the coordinated pH–CO environment, nitrite can be selectively intercepted at NH 2 OH or diverted toward C─N coupling. Under optimized alkaline conditions with CO, formamide is produced with a Faradaic efficiency of 80.2% and a yield rate of 204.8 mmol·g cat −1 ·h −1 , while at near‐neutral conditions, the same strategy enhances NH 2 OH Faradaic efficiency to 79.1%. Mechanistic studies reveal that pH governs the reorientation and hydrogen‐bond structure of interfacial water, which dictates active hydrogen (*H) generation kinetics and thereby defines the attainable reduction depth, whether it stops at NH 2 OH or proceeds to deeper deoxygenation to *NH 2 . Only when *H is sufficiently available, *NH 2 then selectively captures CO, redirecting it away from complete hydrogenation. Collectively, we show that multi‐electron electrocatalysis can be programmed by coupling interfacial structural control with targeted molecular trapping, offering a generalizable route to accessing metastable intermediates and expanding nitrogen electrosynthesis beyond ammonia.

Angewandte Chemie
Dalian University (CN), Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (CN), Shanxi Normal University (CN), Huaiyin Institute of Technology (CN), University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
National Natural Science Foundation of China, National Key Research and Development Program of China
Openalex Percentile: Top 16%
Ammonia Synthesis and Nitrogen Reduction
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