Metallic Ag-BiAg HeterostructuredDendrites AccelerateCarbon–Nitrogen Coupling for Air Plasma-Derived Amino AcidElectrosynthesis
Abstract Electrochemical C–N coupling driven by renewable electricity provides a sustainable strategy for amino acid synthesis, yet achieving high catalytic efficiency still remains challenging. Herein, a metallic Ag-BiAg heterostructured dendritic electrode is developed by a simple electrodeposition strategy for efficient amino acid electrosynthesis. The optimized catalyst achieves a high glycine Faradaic efficiency of 80.72%, accompanied by a yield rate of 993.3 μmol h–1 cm–2 at −0.9 V vs RHE, outperforming previously reported catalysts. Operando spectroscopic investigations combined with theoretical calculations reveal that the metallic Ag-BiAg heterointerface synergistically optimizes the electronic structure and adsorption behavior of key reaction intermediates, thereby accelerating the generation of the crucial *NH2OH intermediate, enhancing the activation and hydrogenation of glyoxylic acid oxime, and promoting the overall C–N coupling kinetics toward highly selective glycine electrosynthesis. Remarkably, an energy-efficient paired electrosynthesis system integrated with air plasma-derived feedstocks was further constructed, achieving high-performance glycine and formate coproduction over a broad voltage range of 1.2–1.6 V, together with promising long-term stability over 120 h. This work provides a sustainable strategy for air plasma-to-amino acid electrosynthesis through the rational interfacial engineering of dual-site catalytic systems.
Authors
- Lin Luo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9705-494X)
- Changzheng Wu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4416-6358)
- Yun Tong (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7607-8467)
- Pengzuo Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9227-6156)
- Dan Liŭ (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0945-1663)
- Xiaonan Zheng
- Han Cheng
- Kun Chen
Institutions
- University of Science and Technology of China (CN)
- Zhejiang Sci-Tech University (CN)
- Henan Institute of Science and Technology (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Journal of the American Chemical Society
- Published
- 2026-08-14
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.6c11127
- Primary Topic
- Ammonia Synthesis and Nitrogen Reduction
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Chinese Academy of Sciences
- Science and Technology Department of Henan Province