A Phosphide Active‐Hydrogen Valve: Redirecting Interfacial Hydrogen from Hydrogen Evolution into C–N Coupling for Efficient Urea Electrosynthesis

ABSTRACT Electrocatalytic CO 2 /NO 3 − co‐reduction offers a sustainable route to urea synthesis but remains constrained by mismatched carbon/nitrogen intermediate supply and uncontrolled competition between substrate hydrogenation and the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Here, interfacial active‐hydrogen flux regulation is proposed as a design principle that matches *H generation with directional consumption within the C–N coupling network and is realized in Fe‐doped Ni 2 P nanosheet arrays. The metal‐phosphorus framework buffers and delivers *H, sustaining hydrogenation while suppressing futile recombination into H 2 . Fe incorporation simultaneously constructs electronically dichotomous microdomains: electron‐deficient Fe sites activate CO 2 and stabilize *CO, whereas the electron‐enriched Ni sites drive NO 3 − hydrogenation toward *NH 2 . Such synergistic regulation synchronizes *CO/*NH 2 supply with timely *H utilization, redirecting interfacial hydrogen from a competing HER precursor into a productive coupling resource. Operando spectroscopy and theoretical calculations corroborate enhanced precursor formation, a lowered C–N coupling barrier, and thermodynamic preference for substrate hydrogenation over HER. Fe‐Ni 2 P delivers a urea Faradaic efficiency of 65.84% and a yield rate of 1820.31 µg h −1 cm −2 at −0.4 V vs. RHE in an H‐cell, reaching 3688.91 µg h −1 cm −2 at 1.6 V in a membrane electrode assembly with a 50.69% Faradaic efficiency, offering a transferable design strategy for multi‐reactant C–N coupling electrocatalysis.

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Publication Details

Journal
Advanced Functional Materials
Published
2026-10-15
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.79078
Primary Topic
CO2 Reduction Techniques and Catalysts
Type
article
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article

A Phosphide Active‐Hydrogen Valve: Redirecting Interfacial Hydrogen from Hydrogen Evolution into C–N Coupling for Efficient Urea Electrosynthesis

Weimian Zhang, Pengyue Shan, Zhipeng Yu, Chenyue Zhang et al.
Advanced Functional Materials
CO2 Reduction Techniques and Catalysts
article

A Phosphide Active‐Hydrogen Valve: Redirecting Interfacial Hydrogen from Hydrogen Evolution into C–N Coupling for Efficient Urea Electrosynthesis

Weimian Zhang, Pengyue Shan, Zhipeng Yu, Chenyue Zhang, Haoliang Huang, Liyuan Zeng, Lifeng Liu, Kaiyang Xu, Chao Song, Laihong Shen, Hang Cui, Yang Zhao
article en

Abstract

ABSTRACT Electrocatalytic CO 2 /NO 3 − co‐reduction offers a sustainable route to urea synthesis but remains constrained by mismatched carbon/nitrogen intermediate supply and uncontrolled competition between substrate hydrogenation and the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Here, interfacial active‐hydrogen flux regulation is proposed as a design principle that matches *H generation with directional consumption within the C–N coupling network and is realized in Fe‐doped Ni 2 P nanosheet arrays. The metal‐phosphorus framework buffers and delivers *H, sustaining hydrogenation while suppressing futile recombination into H 2 . Fe incorporation simultaneously constructs electronically dichotomous microdomains: electron‐deficient Fe sites activate CO 2 and stabilize *CO, whereas the electron‐enriched Ni sites drive NO 3 − hydrogenation toward *NH 2 . Such synergistic regulation synchronizes *CO/*NH 2 supply with timely *H utilization, redirecting interfacial hydrogen from a competing HER precursor into a productive coupling resource. Operando spectroscopy and theoretical calculations corroborate enhanced precursor formation, a lowered C–N coupling barrier, and thermodynamic preference for substrate hydrogenation over HER. Fe‐Ni 2 P delivers a urea Faradaic efficiency of 65.84% and a yield rate of 1820.31 µg h −1 cm −2 at −0.4 V vs. RHE in an H‐cell, reaching 3688.91 µg h −1 cm −2 at 1.6 V in a membrane electrode assembly with a 50.69% Faradaic efficiency, offering a transferable design strategy for multi‐reactant C–N coupling electrocatalysis.

Advanced Functional Materials
Dongguan University of Technology (CN), Songshan Lake Materials Laboratory (CN), Guangdong University of Science and Technology (CN), Southeast University (CN)
Openalex Percentile: Top 34%
CO2 Reduction Techniques and Catalysts
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